The Executioner's Song
by Anonymonimus
Summary: To think all of this had started a little over a month ago when a string of murders drew the Pines family's attention. Had Dipper known things would have turned out the way they did, he would have looked the other way and beckoned the others to ignore the mystery that had once begged to be solved. He would give anything to go back and fix things before they all went to shit. SEQUEL
1. Head Shaking, Heart Racing

**THIS STORY IS A SEQUEL TO _Two Minutes to Midnight_ AND THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IN THE _Of Armageddons and Broken Hearts_ SERIES. I SUGGEST YOU READ THE FIRST PART BEFORE COMMENCING THIS PART SO AS TO HAVE A BETTER OF GRASP OF WHAT'S GOING ON.**

 **That being said, it's not entirely necessary so... yeah.**

* * *

There was a ringing in Dipper's ear and his head was buzzing. He struggled to keep his eyes open and even more so to push himself from the ground. The most he managed to do was prop himself up on his forearms and lift his head. The Mystery Shack was destroyed. It was just a burning ruin of what it once was. Bits of flaming debris littered the lawn that surrounded the establishment. Tears welled in Dipper's eyes and he forced himself to look away. It wasn't the time to cry – not yet. He had to find his family. He had to make sure they were alive.

"Grunkle Stan…" Dipper muttered to himself with a painful groan.

Stan was also much older than everyone else. His bones broke with the slightest movement it seemed, and he bruised easily. Age was beginning to weigh him down and Dipper had noticed how quickly he got breathless nowadays. He hoped he was okay.

"God have mercy, please be okay…"

His body surged with pain. Dipper had likely broken a few bones. His head felt light and he would be on the verge of passing out if he didn't do anything. He dug his fingers into the dirt beneath him before balling his hands into fists. He had to find Grunkle Stan and the others. Just as the teenager's mind began wandering to his great uncle Ford, screaming alerted him. He tried looking back but his body was stiff and sore and the slight movement he had managed crippled him with pain.

Who was screaming?

 _It…it kind of sounds like…Bill…_ Dipper thought and his blood froze as he realised what that could mean for Ford.

Dipper tried to get up. He had to see what was panicking the demon. He had to make sure nothing bad had happened to Ford. However, as soon as he tried to push himself up, he fell onto his face. His arms were too weak to push onto his feet and Dipper wasn't even sure his legs could support him. His heart continued racing in his chest. The ringing in his ear persisted to a deafening degree and he couldn't make out what Bill was saying. It couldn't mean anything good. He hoped the demon was just exaggerating. He hoped that once Dipper found the strength to get to him, he would find that Bill had just freaked out over nothing.

But he knew better so he couldn't hope.

"Damn it…" He hissed to himself and tried pushing himself up again. "Come on, Dipper…get up, get up, get—"

Dipper managed to push himself further from the ground. He almost managed to get to his feet when a dizzy spell hit him and he fell back onto the ground. His body was utterly exhausted and once he recuperated from his unexpected dizziness, he knew he wouldn't be able to get up again. But he couldn't let that weigh him down. Dipper had to find Grunkle Stan, he needed to make sure Ford was okay, he had to reassure Bill that whatever was panicking him wasn't as bad as he thought.

He had to find Mabel.

He had to _stop_ Mabel.

"Gotta find…Mabel…"

Dark spots began clouding his vision and as much as he fought to stay conscious he was losing his battle.

"No, no, no…" Dipper hissed to himself and tried to stand once more, "Gotta…get to the others…come on Dipper…come on—"

But he fell and he could hardly see anything anymore once he hit the ground again. He couldn't help the wave of exhaustion that washed over him. He was too weak to fight it – too weak to stand. His head fell heavily against the grass and the ringing in his ear intensified. God, Dipper felt terrible – like someone had thrown him into a meat grinder or something. His head – now that was the worse of the pain. He felt like his left ear had been torn clean off. For all he knew, it could easily have happened. Everything was just so chaotic…so _wrong_.

"Damn it…" Dipper cursed to himself before losing consciousness.

To think all of this had started a little over a month ago when a string of murders drew the Pines family's attention. Had Dipper known things would have turned out the way they did, he would have looked the other way and beckoned the others to ignore the mystery that had once begged to be solved. He would give anything to go back and fix things before they all went to shit.

 _Mabel…_


	2. A Life I've Left Behind

_Dipper ran as fast as he could and yet he was still inexplicably slow. His throat burned from his harsh breaths, and his arms and legs were sore. The forest was dark and the black trees surrounding him seemed to bear devilish faces. They were watching – laughing and mocking his efforts to escape. Suddenly, he tripped on an upturn branch. Dipper fell to the ground violently; eating a bit of the damp dirt which he promptly spat out. He stayed still for a moment, desperately trying to catch his breath while keeping in mind that it was coming._

He _was coming._

 _Fear overtook him and he jumped to his feet again. He fought through the pain of his shredded knees and bleeding palms. He was too scared to let it dissuade him from fleeing no matter how much it hurt. He could see a clearing up ahead and a smile broke out on his face. He knew, for some reason, that if he could just make it, everything would be okay – he would be safe. Dipper was so close but so far away and he could feel the monster chasing him steadily close the gap separating them. The teen willed himself to be faster but his body only seemed to slow. It was frustrating and Dipper wanted to cry and scream._

" _You can't escape me, Dipper…you can't win. I_ will _kill you." He threatened and he was far too close for comfort. Dipper could hear the flapping of his cloak as though he were but a few dire inches away._

 _Dipper shouted and, by some insane miracle, fell into the clearing. He breathed heavily and remained on his hands and knees as the adrenaline left his veins. The danger had passed. He was going to be okay. He was going to be fine. So he fell onto his back and stared at the night sky. Then his heart caught in his throat as he beheld a blood moon in the cloudless void. He pushed himself up hastily but a foot collided with his chest and shoved him back down all the while knocking the air from his lungs._

" _I told you, Dipper…" he said and grinned sickeningly as he applied more weight. Dipper winced and gripped his ankle in a feeble attempt to move his foot but to no avail. "You can't escape me."_

" _Leave me…alone!" Dipper choked out painfully._

 _The monster threw his head back and laughed maniacally. The action had his hood falling back and revealed Tad's manic features. His hysteric eyes were purple and seemed to glow in the spreading darkness. The Warlock looked back down and a maddening grin contorted his face, giving him a monstrous allure._

" _I'm going to kill everyone you love." He said, his voice disturbingly calm and sweet. "I'll bring Gravity Falls to its knees."_

 _He looked so terrifying that Dipper averted his gaze; he just couldn't look at him anymore. He tilted his head to his left and he was met with Bill's lifeless face. Dried tears had left a trail running from his eyes and a steady stream of blood poured from his mouth. Dipper glanced down briefly only to find a violent gash at his throat – the sight was nauseating. He whimpered and shut his eyes momentarily, thrashing to the right but when he dared to open his eyes he saw Mabel. She was also dead with a large wound to the side of her forehead. The viscous crimson liquid tainted her skin and her hair._

 _She was so pale._

" _No!" Dipper cried and Tad applied more pressure onto his chest as he guffawed again._

 _His evil laugh seemed to mix with a rhythmic buzzing sound that gradually became louder. Dipper didn't notice it until it was the only thing he could hear. Tad's laugh was soon lost to the irritating noise and the world disappeared into complete whiteness._

* * *

Dipper woke up with a violent gasp and jolted into a sitting position, hitting his head against something hard that had him falling back onto his mattress clutching his face.

"Ow, Pine Tree! What the hell!?" Bill whined and rubbed his forehead.

"B-Bill…?" Dipper stuttered. His heart was still beating wildly in his chest, smacking against his ribcage with such force that it threatened to break free. He stared at the demon in front of him. He seemed fine – no wounds, no gash on his neck, no nothing. He simply floated above Dipper's bed with an alarm clock encased in a blue hue. He frowned when he understood what was happening as he became aware of the annoying sound once more. "Bill!" He snapped, "What the hell's your problem!?"

The demon really must have missed Dipper and Mabel because, ever since they returned to Gravity Falls two weeks ago, neither had been able to get much time to themselves. Bill had actually awoken them at ungodly hours the first few days of their return and now, as it seemed, he had waited until seven. He would have to talk to Ford about getting the demon to give them at least two more hours of well-deserved sleep.

"It's time to wake up!" He insisted and moved the alarm clock closer to Dipper's face with his magic.

"Oh my god…" he groaned, the sound getting gradually more aggravating.

A year had passed since the Warlock crisis. Dipper and Mabel had attended their senior year of high school and made the most of it despite the trauma they had suffered during their perilous summer. Mabel, despite all odds, seemed to have had the time of her life. Dipper had never quite seen his sister so joyous. She laughed, joined clubs, made far more friends than she would otherwise have because she had gone out of her way to talk to people she once would have ignored. Her magic had been the only problem and yet she never let the lapses of control get to her. She kept a smile on her face and she tried and tried again to manage it to the best of her abilities – that being said, despite her determination, she still couldn't quite do it. Sometimes she still accidentally blew things apart.

However, recently, a change had begun to manifest itself in his sister. It had started a month before the end of their school year. They were little things at first, but Mabel began expressing irritation and loss of patience. She was snappish, harsh, and struggled more often than usual with keeping her negative or mean comments to herself. And though she would always apologize for her uncalled for behaviour, she did so less frequently and would nowadays wake up in a sour mood. Dipper hadn't known if it had anything to do with the events of the past summer.

Regardless, on Dipper's end, he had spent his school year attempting to quell his nightmares. Every night since they had left Gravity Falls, he would dream of Tad chasing him. Sometimes the Warlock caught him and killed him. Other times, he tied him to his wooden stake and forced him to watch as he murdered those he loved most. The one consistency was that he never successfully got away. Tad always caught him because it was like he said, he could never escape. Not really.

The Warlock crisis had changed him.

Dipper feared it was permanent.

"Damn it, turn that stupid thing off!" Dipper snapped and tried swatting at the alarm clock.

Bill moved it and grinned, resting his hands on his hips. "Why? Is it bothering you?" He teased.

Before Dipper could answer, a burst of teal magic sprung from the other side of the room and hit the alarm clock. It shattered the small machine with a violent boom and most of its debris fell onto Dipper's bed. He looked to his right and found Mabel rolling onto her side, her back facing them, and pulling her bed covers over her shoulder. It was a silent way of telling them to shut up. Dipper held in a disappointed sigh. She was in one of her moods again. He had thought her anger would have subsided once they returned to Gravity Falls.

But, Mabel was still angry.

"Gee! Someone woke up on the wrong side!" Bill snickered and floated closer to her side of the room.

Dipper flinched. The demon was going to be eaten alive if he continued pushing her buttons like that. "Bill—" he warned, "Stop, I'm awake. Let's just go—"

"No, I want Shooting Star to come too!" he declared, "We should spar. It'll help her calm her nerve!"

"Spar, hun…?" Mabel mumbled and Dipper gulped thickly.

She sprung to her feet in a flash, flinging a burst of magic towards Bill. The action had been so rapid Dipper had barely been able to perceive it and was astonished the demon actually managed to block it with a magic shield. An excited grin spread on the blonde's face and it only seemed to infuriate Mable who suddenly began pelting him with rapid attacks. Bill blocked all of them nearly effortlessly while Dipper worried about something getting broken. Fighting in their room was just a terrible idea.

Mabel quickly got annoyed with the lack of effect she was having. She growled loudly and threw what seemed to be a powerful attack. Rather than block it like he had before, Bill opted to move out of the way. Dipper hardly managed to dive out of the way in time to avoid getting his head blasted off. The wall had instead suffered from the blow of his sister's magic. A steaming hole had been punched through the wood and left everyone in the room silent.

"What the hell was that noise!?" Stan snapped from the floor below.

Mabel glared at Bill before crawling back beneath her bed covers. Bill seemed on the verge of taunting her again but Dipper didn't allow him the chance. He grabbed the demon by the wrist and dragged him out of the room, ignoring his whines and complaints. He didn't like it when Mabel was angry. He hoped the cheerful sister he had grown up with would return soon.

"Pine Tree, we were just _playing_!" Bill insisted as he begrudgingly followed Dipper down the stairs.

"Of course you were." He said and rolled his eyes, "That's why there's a—"

He stopped when they came face to face with Grunkle Stan at the bottom of the stairs. He stood in his work clothes with his arms folded against his chest and an expectant look. "There's a what?"

"Nothing!" Bill said hurriedly and floated forward with an innocent smile. Stan wasn't convinced at all and glared at him.

"There's a hole in the wall." Dipper sighed. There was no point in hiding the truth from Stan. It wasn't like they could conceal the hole anyways. It was far too big.

"There's a—" He started, astonished, though it soon turned to anger, "This is why you're not allowed to use magic in the house! How many times has this happened before!?"

"Hey! It wasn't me this time, it was Shooting Star!" Bill defended.

"Sure it was." Stan scoffed.

"I'm telling the truth!" Bill insisted, "Right, Pine Tree?"

Dipper ignored him and walked around Stan without commenting. Bill had been the one to anger his sister so, in a sense, he _was_ at fault. He sort of was the reason there was a hole in the wall. The teen decided to overlook how the magic could have killed him had he not moved out of the way quickly enough. Mabel hadn't meant it. It had been another accident.

"Pine Tree!" Bill called after him.

"I swear to _God_ , Cipher!" Stan growled and stormed off in direction of the kitchen.

They entered the kitchen with Bill following a few steps behind with a moping expression. Ford was already in the room with a mug of coffee in hand. He tore his gaze away from the small TV which sat on a counter covered in unopened letters. A smile appeared on his face at the sight of them. He still hadn't aged a day.

"Now, now," He said, "I'm sure it's nothing a little magic can't fix."

"That doesn't mean he should break every single wall." Stan grumbled and sat at the kitchen table.

"But it wasn't _me_ this time!" Bill repeated but no one listened.

Dipper walked to the coffee machine and brewed himself a cup. He considered making one for Mabel but she would likely only wake up in the next two hours at which point her coffee would be cold. Instead, he poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table in the seat across from Stan. The kitchen was plunged in silence, which made the sound of the TV all the clearer when Shandra began talking about the story of the day.

"More news in regards to the Washington DC murders," She said, "Yesterday, another victim, one Fox Trigger, a government agent, was found dead in his home. Like all the other murders that began back in January, there was no forced entry, no witnesses, and his body was inexplicably found mummified. Though a full autopsy has yet to be performed, it is very likely that no lethal wound will be found. More on this story as it progresses."

Ford sighed heavily and strolled to the TV, shutting it off. As Shandra had said, the DC murders began back in January. They had been the last of Dipper's concerns at the time – he had been busy battling his everlasting nightmares of Tad. However, he had had a suspicion that Ford would be on the case. What was so peculiar in regards to the whole situation was as Shandra had also said, the victims were found mummified as though their body had been aging for three thousand years. Their skin was yellowed and what was left of it clung to bone. The eyes were absent and only scarce strands of hair remained where most were found turned to dust around the body. It was clear something supernatural was at work but DC was across the country and the Shack was under government surveillance after its supernatural investigation organization was found militarized in Gravity Falls without their memories or a reason to be present. Agent Powers was angrily convinced Ford had pulled a fast one of him again. He was close.

It was actually Bill.

"Any theories?" Dipper asked between bites of cereal.

"No." Ford admitted. "I'm sure there are details the investigators are missing and there's only so much the news actually knows. I would need to be there and conduct my own investigation to start thinking of something but…"

"But you can't leave Gravity Falls." Dipper finished, "I know, I remember."

"It would be suspicious." Ford nodded, "Agent Powers would be on to me."

"The city sucks anyways." Stan grumbled, "Especially DC. Can't con anyone without getting arrested by some undercover government operative."

Dipper snickered and rolled his eyes. Of course Grunkle Stan would complain about such a thing.

"You know, maybe it'll be less suspicious if it was just the two of us." Bill purred and floated over to Ford, draping his arms around his neck. The latter blushed and sucked in a harsh breath – ever the awkward man whenever Bill displayed affection publicly. "We could pass it off as a date."

" _A date_." Stan sneered, "Only rich guys take their dates to different cities and DC ain't their first pick."

"Seriously." Dipper agreed, "Paris is a more likely destination."

" _Paris_?" Bill scoffed, "The Parisian swamps? The city of shit and mud? What's so date-worthy of a place named after its filthy streets?"

"Alright, calm down." Ford cooed and patted the top of the blonde's head gently. "It was a nice try but I don't think Agent Powers would have bought it even if DC was a romantic destination. We'll just have to hope they figure out what's happening soon and put a stop to it."

"They do have to be capable to some extent." Stan added, "I mean, they have an organization focused on paranormal activity."

Dipper nodded and went back to eating his cereal. Five months had passed since the first murder; surely they were close to solving the mystery. Soon the DC murders would be a thing of the past and Ford would be breaking into the government's database to find out who or what had been responsible out of curiosity. All would be well.


	3. Tell Her That I Miss Our Little Talks

Dipper finished his breakfast and followed Stan into the Mystery Shack shop. Wendy would arrive shortly for her shift but before then, everything had to be prepared for the arrival of customers. Boxes of merchandise needed to be lifted and placed elsewhere, money had to be counted, and the floors needed to be cleaned to some extent. Five years ago, Stan would have been easily capable of taking care of those meager tasks on his own, however he had aged. It was unfortunate to say but he was old now. He was weaker and cold turkey had made him more fragile. That being said, Stan seemed happier than he had ever been.

"What are you looking at?" He grumbled.

Dipper flinched and blinked rapidly, unaware that he had been staring. "N-nothing." He stuttered.

"Then move that box behind the counter." Stan ordered as he lazily cleaned the floor, "It ain't going to move itself."

"Right…"

The teen sucked in a deep breath before bending down and forcing himself to lift. He wasn't the strongest guy around and if Bill hadn't bartered his way into having a day off, he would have been the one taking care of it. He actually would have done everything that needed to be done without lifting a finger. Rather than linger on the usefulness of magic, Dipper focused his efforts and lugged the box to its designated location. He earned a grumble of approval from Stan who continued his work.

"Anything else?" Dipper asked, leaning against the counter.

"Yeah," Stan said and offered the broom, "Take care of this while I count the money."

Dipper rolled his eyes but did as he was told without a word of complaint. He simply wondered why his great uncle hadn't just started doing that instead of cleaning the floor. It wasn't like he had actually cleaned anything either. He had simply stood in the same place and gone over the same area at a very slow and mindless place. The brunet hadn't been cleaning for more than a few minutes when the shop's door suddenly swung open, sounding the bell overhead.

"We're not open yet—"

"Sup, Mister Pines?" Wendy grinned as she strolled in.

"Oh, you're early." Stan concluded, surprised. He glanced at his watch and frowned. "Your shift only starts in fifteen minutes."

"I wanted to swing by and chat with the kiddos." Wendy laughed, she walked over to Dipper and ruffled his hair playfully.

"H-hey!" Dipper protested and blushed; swatting her hand away, "Who are you calling a kid!? I'm seventeen going on eighteen!"

" _You_!" She teased and then glanced around, "Where's Mabel?"

"Still sleeping." Dipper said rapidly, "She, uh, she should be awake in two hours or something."

"Why are you up, then?" The redhead asked, cocking her head curiously to the side.

"Bill."

"He's been on you and your sister's asses ever since you got here, hun?" Wendy concluded with an amused smirk.

Wendy was one of the scarce people of Gravity Falls who remembered the Warlock Crisis. Dipper had been the one to break the spell Bill had casted on her, thus returning all of her memories. Though she had witnessed some of the destruction, she hadn't seen too much of the morbid side of the event and had been able to cope fairly well. To her, it was as though she had witnessed the aftermath of an earthquake – it was terrible, but it was something she learned to get over without it impacting any facet of her life. Dipper wished things had been as simple for himself. On that note, he had also filled his friend in on Bill's true identity. He had recounted the events from the moment the demon had shown up in a human body, naked, at their front door to his murder and subsequent resurrection. Dipper had ended the whole story by making Wendy swear not to tell another soul. It hadn't taken much of anything to convince her to agree.

It felt good to have someone not from their family in on the secret. Dipper had someone with a different perspective and different relationship to discuss things with and it was refreshing.

"Yeah, it's really annoying." Dipper groaned, but a small smile tugged at his lips, "But he means well."

"Strange, right?" Wendy laughed, "You know, because he's a demon."

"I don't think he gets to be called that anymore." Dipper chuckled as well, "He lost that title ever since he started sucking up to Ford and acting all lovey-dovey."

"That's probably not the only thing he's sucking, if you know what I'm saying." Stan intervened with a wide grin. "Ehh?"

"Grunkle _Stan_!" Dipper whined and smacked his face. " _Don't_."

"You walked right into that one, kid." He chuckled and continued counting his money.

"You did." Wendy agreed.

"Don't encourage him."

"Anyway," She continued, "I wanted to tell you and your sister the gang's throwing a party after tomorrow. Everyone's going to be there, so you two should come along."

"Everyone?" Dipper asked, "Even Robbie?"

He vaguely remembered Wendy telling him that the former was in Washington DC for some reason.

"Yeah, he's coming back from DC today." She supplied and Dipper nodded, "By the way, don't mention the DC murders around him."

"How come?" He asked.

Not that he would. Why would they talk about such a thing at a _party_?

"His uncle was one of the first victims." Wendy explained, "It's a sore spot, you know? We're partially throwing this thing to lift his spirits, change his mind after the funeral and everything."

"Yeah, okay." Dipper nodded, a part of him felt like it wasn't the best idea to drag Robbie to a social event so soon after such a tragedy. Then again, Wendy and the others knew him better than he did. If they thought it was not only fine but a good idea, they were probably right. "I'll pass the message to Mabel when she wakes up."

"Awesome."

Stan opened shop shortly after their conversation ended. Dipper left them to their own devices, opting to head outside and meditate for a good portion of the day as he wasn't scheduled to work the Mystery Shack. He found himself a cozy spot in the sun with the breeze blowing in his face. Dipper took a deep breath, thoroughly enjoying the summer warmth and the beginning of another beautiful day. When he had had enough of the blue sky and surrounding green trees, he closed his eyes and pulled his legs into the lotus position.

He recalled Bill's teaching. He took slow and deep breaths, straining his hearing and focused solely on the most subtle sounds that were often missed by people. He listened to the distant singing of birds, the rustling of leaves in the warm breeze, and the creaking of the Shack at his back. Peace washed over him and his body relaxed.

Dipper had been meditating ever since he had returned home to California a year ago. Though he hadn't yet unlocked his magical potential, meditation had had other beneficial effects. For one thing, it helped with his studies. His grades had improved which helped in getting accepted in his ideal University. Aside from that, Dipper found he was more concentrated and calm. He could thus make more rational and intelligent decisions with little risk of being swayed by his emotions. The most important thing he had developed, however, had been patience. As disappointed as he was in not having yet unlocked his magical potential, he concluded there would be no point in whining or being angry. His magic would come to him eventually and he would simply have to wait because there was nothing else he could do.

The teen took another deep breath before shifting his attention to the discreet sounds of his body. He listened to the gentle beating of his heart, the subtle sound of blood coursing through his veins, and focused on the feeling of his lungs filling with and expelling air. He had never felt closer to himself and couldn't help but think that, at his given rate, he would unlock his magic in no time. But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind that silent steps on the grass had alerted him to another presence.

Dipper opened his eyes and found Mabel standing in front of him a few paces away. He was about to ask her what she wanted when he noticed how the sky was no longer blue but rather orange and pink from the sun setting in the horizon. The day had passed and it seemed as though Dipper had only just started meditating seconds ago. It was strange but he reckoned he did often lose track of time during his sessions. The more he thought about it, the more he realised his body was stiff from the position he had been in.

"Grunkle Ford tried making us food again." Mabel said before Dipper remembered to speak. She sat on the grass with her knees tucked against her chest, "We're not sure what he tried to make but it's grey and sentient now. He's arguing with it about its rights."

"So we're having takeout again" Dipper concluded with a small chuckle. The Pines family were notorious for being inept cooks. Ford was the only one who insisted on trying all the same and progressively got worse rather than better.

"Bill wants smoked meat so it'll probably be from Greasy's." Mabel continued and Dipper noticed how her voice was far less vibrant than usual. She spoke quietly as though she had something weighing on her mind.

"It's weird that he gets a say, hun?" Dipper said in an attempt to get her laughing, "I mean, he doesn't even _have_ to eat."

"Yeah." Mabel agreed with a half-hearted huff, much to her brother's disappointment.

"Mabel—"

"I'm sorry." She cut in and Dipper snapped his mouth shut. Her eyes watered and she took a shaky breath before proceeding, "I'm sorry I almost blew your head off this morning…I'm sorry I made a hole in the wall…I'm sorry I'm always so angry all the time…"

"Mabel…" Dipper muttered, softer, "It's okay."

"No. No it isn't." She insisted. "I don't know what's wrong with me…I don't feel like myself anymore, I—"

"Hey," Dipper intervened and scooted to her, "Don't worry," he insisted and pulled her into a hug, "We'll figure it out. It'll be okay." She stiffened but nodded. Eventually, she returned the embrace briefly before pulling away. Dipper noticed that she still seemed rather flustered. "When did this start?"

"Ever since…" Mabel paused and swallowed thickly, "Ever since Tad died."

"Do you think it has something to do with him?" Dipper asked, "Is his memory still haunting you…or something?"

If she answered yes, Dipper would never have guessed. She had just seemed so happy. Fortunately, she shook her head no instead. "I mean, I used to have nightmares," she admitted, "But those stopped months ago."

 _Lucky_.

"Maybe it has to do with your magic." Dipper suggested, "No one's really given us a speech on how it all works. Maybe unlocking magic has some effect on the body – Grunkle Ford did say there wasn't really such a thing as magic; it was just science we didn't understand."

"So like…" Mabel started, her lips quivering, "… _magical puberty_?"

There was a brief moment of silence before the twins exploded in laughter. The term was absurd and yet it had basically been what Dipper had been alluding to. Who knew, maybe that was what was happening with Mabel. In the end, it didn't matter so much anymore because she was smiling and laughing and that was all Dipper could ever really ask for. He didn't like seeing his sister angry but he liked seeing her sad even less.

"You reckon magical hairs will start growing in strange places then?" Dipper joked.

"Maybe I'll magically grow taller." Mabel mused with a playful grin, "And maybe you'll finally grow a beard once you unlock your magic."

"A _magical_ beard." Dipper specified.

"Of course, of course." Mabel snickered, "Though, just growing even one beard hair would be pretty magical by itself."

"Hey!" Dipper argued with mock-offence, "I'll have you know I managed to grow beard hairs a few times."

"Your face begs otherwise." She sneered, "It's as smooth as a baby's bottom."

"Rude." Dipper huffed and turned his nose away.

"Come on then," Mabel laughed and pushed herself on her feet, "Let's go back inside, it's getting dark."

"Sure." And his body cricked and cracked as he moved to stand. He groaned at his soreness. "Uhg…"

He then followed his sister back into the Mystery Shack when he remembered the invitation Wendy had made. Dipper told her all about it as they walked in and Mabel was quick to accept. She always loved a good party. They slipped into the living room and chatted idly as Ford continued to argue with the thing he had once tried cooking about its rights. And in that moment, Dipper felt as though he had fallen back into a semblance of normalcy.


	4. I Am A Stranger

They gathered in the living room the following morning for a serious conversation concerning magic. Stan was the only one who was absent seeing as he had to take care of the Mystery Shack. Even if the shop hadn't been an obligation, he likely wouldn't have attended anyhow because he didn't care much for the supernatural. The man never failed to voice his annoyance and exasperation in regards to it whenever it mingled into his day to day life. Mabel and Dipper were seated at their usual spot on the sofa while Ford stood in front of them, hands behind his back. Bill simply floated from one end of the room to the other absently, fiddling with a handheld console Dipper hadn't known he owned.

Mabel began speaking once ushered to by Ford. He wanted to know exactly how she had been feeling ever since her powers awoke. She began by relating that she had felt rather energetic at first until she had left Gravity Falls to return home. The feeling of awkwardness was subtle at first. Mabel described it as this anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach she often mistook for something else. Then it got worst and it seemed to spread. Eventually, she felt like her skin fit wrong; as though there was too much of something – or maybe something had been missing, she still hadn't quite figured it out. For the most part, Mabel said she could keep her discomfort and sensation of overall wrongness hidden but, lately, it was getting to be too much to bear.

Hearing his sister relate all of this information had Dipper in awe. He also felt very guilty for not having noticed. He had been too preoccupied with himself to take note that something was happening with Mabel. It didn't matter that she hadn't told him a word about what was going on; he hadn't been there for her when she really needed him. The brunet shrunk a bit in his seat and began fiddling with his hands anxiously. He felt like a terrible brother.

"What about your magic?" Ford asked, "Were there times when you struggled to control it?"

"Yeah, but it was never bad." Mabel answered, "Sometimes my hands would start glowing without me wanting them to. Other times, I went to pick up small things like a pen and it exploded."

"Did anyone notice?" Ford pressed worriedly.

"No, it never happened at school." She assured, "Well, except for one time, but I was alone."

"Good." Ford said with a relaxed sigh, "And this anger you've been feeling, do you have any idea where it could stem from? Do some of the things people do set you off or…?"

Mabel shook her head and clenched her fists a little, "It's the feeling." She reiterated and placed her hand on her stomach, "It's not that it hurts, it almost feels more like a tickle, but it's just… _really_ aggravating."

"Do you have any idea what's happening?" Dipper asked.

"I think I do." Ford nodded, "Bill," and the demon jolted at the sound of his name, nearly dropping his game console, "Correct me if I'm wrong but this is just her body adjusting to her new power, right?"

"Eh? Uh, yeah." He shrugged dismissively, "It's totally natural. Nothing wrong at all."

"What's…happening?" Mabel asked slowly.

"A physical change occurred when you unlocked your magic." Ford explained, "A whole new section of your anatomy was awoken and your body is simply trying to adjust. Your brain is releasing a series of chemicals to try to cope with the new power you've acquired. It happens to everyone but we don't all react the same way. For instances, I only felt that annoying sensation you keep describing but it wasn't as bad as it seems to be for you. You also seem to be in possession of an excess of magic for what your body is capable of handling as indicated by your anger. In an effort to correct your overwhelming power, you're literally just blowing off steam."

"So is this going to go away?" Mabel asked.

"Yes, it generally takes about three years." Ford said and her expression faltered to convey dismay, "But," he continued with a gentle smile, "There's a way to make it leave in just a few months."

"Oh!" Bill perked up. He shut his game and floated closer to the trio with an excited grin, "Are we going to have _the talk_?"

"Uh…" Dipper uttered uncomfortably, "We…we already know how all of _that_ works, so…please no."

"Not _sex_ talk." The demon smirked, " _Magic specialization_! Geez, Pine Tree, get your head out of the gutter."

Dipper blushed a bit in embarrassment. How was he supposed to know 'the talk' wasn't referring to what it typically meant?

"What's all that about?" Mabel asked curiously.

"This is a conversation Bill is more suited to have with you." Ford said and stepped aside to allow the center stage to his lover, "He taught me everything in this domain and I, honestly, don't remember most of it."

"So basically, games like Dragon Age and the Elder Scrolls series got it right," The demon started and Dipper rolled his eyes at the game references. His gaming obsession was beginning to grow unhealthy. They needed to make him go outside more frequently. "There are endless types of magic and you can't learn all of them. What's more is that specializing in a specific category is going to keep you from successfully casting a spell from what is considered your specialisation's polar opposite."

"A combat magic-user wouldn't be able to use summoning magic." Ford noted as an example. "A combat magic-user would also struggle a bit with healing magic."

"Why?" Dipper frowned, he didn't quite understand.

"Combat magic is destructive. The point is to tear something apart, to kill." Ford elaborated, "Summoning magic is to build something, to create life. In that regard, healing magic is more similar to summoning magic because, though it isn't a way to create life, it's a way to maintain it by fixing potentially mortal wounds."

"But aren't the things summoned, the familiars, meant to fight?" Dipper asked.

"Only if they want to." Ford said, "Familiars aren't often used for battle. Think of them more like teachers or guardians. They're there to help and though you may have summoned them, they're not bound to your will. On that note, a familiar will fight for you if you build a strong enough bond with them."

"And you said you don't remember most of the things I taught you." Bill snorted sarcastically.

"If there are endless categories, how am I supposed to choose just one?" Mabel asked, "Especially if I might want to be able to practice some of its opposites?"

"You're just going to have to make a decision, Shooting Star." Bill said, "You have to decide what it is you want to do with your magic. Do you want to research? Do you want to help? Do you want to fight?"

"I…I don't know…" Mabel muttered and looked down.

"It's not something you should decide without serious reflection." Ford said. "Take your time."

"When you have the answer, I'll refer you to a couple of types I think you might like." Bill added, "I'll explain a few to you and help you figure it all out. Whatever you choose though, you'll still be able to practice its opposite for a while if not to try out than just for fun. Specialising takes years."

"Then how is it supposed to make my…whatever is going on with me, go away in a few months?" Mabel frowned.

"When you choose a specialisation, we'll start your training." Bill explained, "You'll be using a lot of the same type of magic and your body will know to expect it and grow accustom to it. Right now, your body's all over the place, trying to figure out what's going on, that's why you're feeling the way you are right now. Choosing a specialisation and beginning your training will help it make sense of everything."

"Hang on," Dipper intervened, "How are you supposed to help her if she chooses the polar opposite of _your_ specialisation?"

"Kid, I know I may _look_ human, but I'm still a demon." Bill pointed out, "I don't abide by the same rules as humans. I don't have to choose a specialisation."

"Anyways, I think that's enough for today." Ford said and turned to Mabel, "You've got a lot to think about. Take your time and really think everything through."

"But you better make it fast if you want all that anger to go away." Bill commented and earned a disapproving glare from Ford.

"Take your time." The latter repeated.

He left the room dragging out Bill who whined and complained but complied. Dipper sighed deeply and leaned further into the sofa. They had been given a lot of information concerning magic and he still had a few questions on his mind. Of course, he was sure Mabel didn't care for some of the things he was wondering about so he bit his tongue. He would talk to Ford later even if Bill probably had more answers for him. The demon would just be annoying by not taking him seriously or simply by messing around.

"Well…" Dipper sighed and smiled to his sister, "At least we know what's going on. And it's pretty much magical puberty."

"Yeah, but the only way to fix it fast is by doing the equivalent of choosing what you want to do for the rest of your life." Mabel huffed in disappointment.

"Hey," Dipper said softly and nudged her, "Look on the bright side. What's bothering you right now is not permanent and can be fixed."

"It's just so much to think about…" Mabel mumbled, "And at the end of this summer, I'm going to be stuck thinking about a job I want to do in the 'real' world for the rest of my life. Gah…" she groaned and rubbed her temples in frustration, "I miss being a kid…things were so simple."

"You're not alone." Dipper said after a moment, "I'll be there with you every step of the way."

Mabel didn't say anything for a moment. Eventually, she smiled lightly. "Thanks." She said and took her brother's hand, "I'm glad I know that I can always count on you."


	5. On est dans la nuit

The party couldn't have come sooner. Dipper was rather excited to see the whole gang again and catch up. He hadn't seen Nate and Lee in a very long time. However, the brunet was rather nervous. He never had a good sense of fashion and though he really shouldn't have been trying to impress anyone when choosing his garb, he couldn't help but want to look at least somewhat attractive. He forced himself not to think that he was secretly doing it to catch Wendy's attention. His lasting affection was hopelessly pointless. Not only had Wendy voiced her disinterest multiple times, but she had a boyfriend – a friend she made on her exchange program in France. Dipper really had to move on.

Nonetheless, he stood in front of the clothes he spread out on his bed pensively. He stared at the various tee shirts, blouses, shorts, and pants, trying to assess which combination was the best despite his ignorance in the fashion department. He didn't want to look like he was trying too hard; he wanted it to come off as casual and natural, but that was steadily becoming impossible. At his given rate, Dipper was sure the effort he put into his choice would show no matter what.

"Hey, Dipper—" Mabel began as she walked into their room abruptly but was interrupted when Dipper yelped in surprise. He hadn't heard her coming in the slightest and she had nearly given him a heart attack. "What are you doing? Are you ready to go?"

Ever since the conversation they had had yesterday concerning magic, Mabel had begun doing better. She seemed happier and maybe it was because she finally knew what was going on or because Bill had officially stopped barging into their room in the early hours of the morning. Or both. When Dipper asked him about it earlier that day, the demon simply said he was "too tired" to do it anymore. He noticed the faint blush on his cheeks and decided to ignore what it was consequently alluding to. He didn't need to know and he _really_ didn't want to know.

"Uh…well…" Dipper muttered sheepishly.

"Did you not even change yet?" Mabel huffed disappointedly as she walked towards him. She looked over the clothes laying on his bed with a raised eyebrow. "Who are you trying to impress?"

"No one—w-why would you ask that?" Dipper stammered nervously, "Who said anything about impressing anyone? I-I just want to look presentable. That's all. Geez."

Mabel didn't seem convinced but she said nothing of it. Fortunately. She looked back at the clothes laid out and grabbed a white tee shirt and a pair of black capri pants. "Wear this."

"Isn't that a bit…simple?" Dipper asked. He assumed his sister would have picked out something much more striking what with being the family fashionista and having a very flashy flair.

"Well, you're not trying to impress anyone anyway, right?" Mabel fired back with a twinkle in her eye. Dipper flinched and pinched his lips together. She smirked. "My style is flashy and colourful and it works for me." She continued after a moment. "You're shier in that sense and don't like attention to be drawn to you. On that note, sometimes less is more. That white shirt makes you look thinner and fit plus those particular pants give you a great butt. So you'll look good but you won't stand out, just the way you probably want it."

Dipper chewed his lower lip pensively and considered it. It was the summer and tonight was gearing up to be rather warm; too warm for long pants but maybe a bit too cold for shorts. Capri pants seemed to be a good compromise. He sighed deeply and opted to at least try on the outfit. It wasn't like they had to be there by a specific time or anything so he could change if he didn't like it. However, he found Mabel had been right as soon as he slipped on the last piece of clothing. He looked better than he imagined and, after inspecting himself in the mirror, he found the pants really did give him a nice ass.

"Looking good, brobro!" Mabel cheered as he walked back into the room with an air of satisfaction. He rolled his eyes and, in that moment, he felt as though he had completely gotten his sister back. "So," she hummed, excitedly jumping in place, "Is the princess ready to go?"

"Yes." Dipper smirked and shook his head at the name calling.

Mabel cheered. She grabbed his arm and happily dragged him out of their room. They ran down the stairs and crossed through the living room in which they found Bill playing video games. It was amazing Ford hadn't yet destroyed the xbox. Dipper remembered hearing from Stan during the course of their year away from Gravity Falls that the man wouldn't stop complaining about the blonde's apparent obsession. He had hypothesised on more than one occasion to obliterate it or toss the thing into a different dimension. It was a miracle he hadn't done so yet but, at Bill's rate, it would likely happen sooner than expected.

The demon paused his game the moment he noticed them walk in. He looked them over curiously, noticing their different clothes. Mabel was more of a giveaway than Dipper. She actually wore makeup and cute outfit – something she didn't do at the Mystery Shack if she was fairly convinced she wasn't going to be leaving the house or having friends over.

"Where are you two going?" Bill asked, floating after them.

"A party." Mabel sang.

"A party?" Bill repeated. "Are you going to get there using that thing I showed you?"

"Yup." Mabel confirmed.

Just when Dipper was about to ask what the two were alluding to, Ford intervened, emerging from the kitchen. He wore an apron dirtied with some strange substance of an unnatural shade of orange. "Did I hear something about a party?" He asked and stared at the twins condescendingly.

Dipper rolled his eyes and groaned internally. Ford was worse than their parents when it came to such things. Their parents only ever required they take care of each other and not return home drunk.

"Maybe…" he said, hoping to avoid a lecture.

"Will there be alcohol?" Ford pressed, his arms akimbo.

" _Grunkle Ford_." The twins complained simultaneously.

"Underage drinking is a serious issue." Ford insisted and even Bill seemed exasperated by his reaction.

"The United States is, like, the only place where the legal drinking age is so high." Mabel whined, "We're pretty much legal in Canada."

"Pretty much legal _isn't_ legal, not to mention eighteen is only the legal age in _some_ provinces." Ford pointed out, now crossing his arms over his chest, "But, more importantly, this isn't Canada and neither of you are twenty one."

"Everyone does it." Dipper said and Ford scoffed.

The man likely would have gone on his usual tangent had he been given the opportunity. However, Bill promptly intervened, pulling his lover to him and pressing their lips together. He muffled any and all of Ford's attempts of protest and quickly waved them away. Mabel and Dipper wasted no time to slip out of the house. The last thing Dipper heard was Bill telling Ford that Grunkle Stan had also left the house which meant they were alone. He chose to erase the memory from his mind and to think of something less scarring.

"I thought we actually wouldn't be going for a moment." Mabel laughed.

"Same." Dipper sighed and pulled out his phone. He found Wendy's text with the directions to the party location. "So how are we getting there? You seemed to have an idea."

"Check this out!" Mabel grinned.

She raised her hands above her head. They glowed with magic and, all of a sudden, a bubble formed around them and began levitating. Dipper quickly fell onto his butt, unable to remain stable. He stared at his sister's magic in awe. He was getting excited at the prospect of learning magic himself and hoped he would manage to unlock his power soon.

"When did you learn this?" He asked.

"Last summer." She answered, "It was the last thing Bill quickly showed me. He said it could be useful if we missed the school bus and were running late. Of course, that was impossible because you insisted on waking us up two hours _before_ the bus was meant to pass but, you know, whatever."

"Is this safe?" Dipper asked as his sister began levitating them further from the ground.

"Probably." Mabel shrugged. "Now you're going to have to stop talking to me because I need to focus."

She flew them fairly high into the sky, over the tip of pine trees and among flocks of birds. The sight was rather amazing and breathtaking. They flew over Gravity Falls and saw a very new side of it. Though significantly small in comparison to their home town in California, the hick town lost in the Oregon forests was still bursting with life despite the late hours of the night. In mere minutes, the twins found themselves hovering over residential neighbourhoods and Mabel steadily lowered them when they neared the house in question. They stopped a street corner away, in a place where most if not all the lights of the houses were shut which hinted that there was likely no one around.

However, Mabel suddenly lost control and the bubble popped while they were still a little over twenty feet from the ground. Neither had time to scream as they fell and landed on the concrete of the street heavily. That being said, they hadn't hurt themselves too badly. Dipper was mostly sore and Mabel had scrapped her knees a bit, though they weren't bleeding.

"Sorry." She groaned in pain, "I don't…I don't really know what happened…"

"Don't worry about it," Dipper said and hissed as he rubbed his lower back, "Better that height than when we were literally in the sky, right? Though I suggest we walk back home."

"Fine with me." Mabel said.

They helped each other up and trudged towards their destination. Wendy greeted them at the front door which hung open. She had her phone out and seemed to be texting, or attempting to, while sipping from a red cup. She stopped when she noticed them and gave them a big smile.

"Hey, kiddos!" She slurred, "You finally made it! I was just about to ask you where the hell you were!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Dipper said as they climbed up the front steps.

"No worries!" She said and led the way into the house. "Now let's go get you boozed up before all the alcohol disappears."

"Sure, but," Mabel started, walking at a faster pace to meet with Wendy, "Whose house is this, exactly?"

"No clue." Wendy shrugged, "Thompson was supposed to be house sitting or something but we're throwing a rad party here instead."

Dipper was sure Thompson would suffer many negative repercussions from his decision later. Though, when he thought about it, it likely hadn't been the guy's choice. His friends probably forced him to do it.

The brunet sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like he was going to do anything about it so he opted to simply enjoy himself before the cops came bursting in to shut everything down. He looked around the living room. Nate and Lee were playing Mario Kart on the TV with a bunch of empty cups surrounding them. The two were nudging and shoving each other playfully in an attempt to foil the other's progress. Neither seemed to be aware that they were both in the very last places. A few feet behind the two were Tambry and her new boyfriend. She and Robbie had broken up just a few months ago. Dipper didn't stare for too long as they were shamelessly having a rather intense make out session. His eyes then fell upon the staircase leading to the second floor on which he found Robbie, pouting and seemingly lost in his thoughts. No one was really paying attention to him and the teen admittedly felt bad. Hadn't this party been thrown to cheer him up?

Dipper stopped and watched as Wendy pulled Mabel into the kitchen where people were huddled around Thompson who was chugging a keg. On one hand, he could follow them and ignore Robbie, pretend he saw nothing, but the goodness in him wouldn't allow it. He and Robbie had come a long way since their initial meeting. Where they had once been enemy and rivals, they now were essentially friends. This friendship had begun to blossom when he had gotten together with Tambry at which point Dipper was no longer competition for his significant other's affection.

He wandered to the stairs and took a seat next to Robbie. The latter didn't notice him until he nudged him. Robbie snapped his head up with a gasp and glanced over at Dipper with a perplexed look. "W-what the—when did you get here?" he asked.

"Two seconds ago." He answered with a gentle smile, "How are you feeling?"

Robbie frowned and glanced away. He peaked at Tambry and her new boyfriend momentarily before sighing deeply. "I could definitely be doing better." He admitted.

"I…" Dipper hesitated. He remembered Wendy warning him not to mention the DC murders, though it felt wrong not to offer his condolences. "I'm…I'm sorry about your uncle."

Robbie seemed genuinely surprised, like no one had bothered to tell him anything of the like until now. "…Thanks." He said quietly. "It…it hasn't been easy."

"If you want to talk about it," Dipper continued slowly, "I'm ready to listen. You have my number so just send me a text or call. I won't mind."

A smile began tugging at his lips. He seemed grateful. "Thanks, man. It means a lot."

"It's no problem." Dipper assured, "You seem like you could use a friend."

"Sometimes I think I could just use a lot of drinks, you know?" Robbie said as a half-hearted joke while he brushed his fingers through his dark locks. "Something to numb the pain, to forget for a little while…"

"That's not the way to go about it…" Dipper replied carefully.

"I know." He assured, "My parents have been repeating the same speech they give all their clients at the funeral home in regards to grief. It's basically etched into my brain."

"Were you and your uncle close?" the brunet asked.

"As close as family is." Robbie sighed, "We weren't exceptionally close, but he was still family. It was just so… _spontaneous_. And finding him like that…"

"Finding?" Dipper repeated curiously.

"Yeah." The other nodded, "I was the one who found him. I was the one who called the cops, I was…"

Wendy hadn't said a word about that. Had she known? He concluded that she hadn't. Dipper was fairly certain she would have mentioned it otherwise.

"Oh my god…" He uttered, unsure of what he was supposed to say.

"Sorry if that was too much information." Robbie muttered with a bitter smile. "It just…it sort of just came out."

"No, it's fine…I…" Dipper stammered, "It must have been terrible. Are you seeing someone to help with the coping?"

"I thought about it." Robbie admitted, "But I'm not sure I want to. It's complicated. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"That's fine. Just know I'm here if you want to talk." Dipper conceded. He wanted to discuss the situation further but he respected Robbie's boundaries. The man would tell him more if he wanted to. Dipper had no right to push.

"Where's your sister, by the way?" Robbie asked and glanced around the room.

"She went into the kitchen with Wendy." Dipper answered, "She's probably drunk by now."

"Kitchen, hun?" Robbie muttered and stood, "How about it, then? Want to go grab a drink?"

Dipper frowned. He was unsure it was a good idea, especially when Robbie had so recently voiced that he considered drinking his pain away on multiple occasions. The latter seemed to realise the source of his concerns and gave a small smile.

"Don't worry, squirt." He said with hints of playfulness, "I won't destroy myself like that."

"You swear?" Dipper asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Dipper hesitated a moment longer but ultimately stood up. He followed Robbie into the kitchen. The two arrived just in time to see Thompson run to the nearest garbage can to throw up while the surrounding crowd laughed loudly and cheered his name. Dipper noticed Mabel and Wendy were part of the gathering in question. Both seemed equally drunk and clung to two red cups. He shook his head and followed Robbie to the other end of the room where the bottles of alcohol and red cups were stacked on a counter just next to the refrigerator. Dipper grabbed the cups while Robbie fished through the fridge for orange juice and added it to the gathering of bottled boozes.

"Hi, my name is Robbie, I'll be your bartender today." He said jokingly, "What'll it be, kiddo?"

"Strawberry daiquiri." Dipper smirked.

"What was that? An orange vodka? You're in luck, it's my speciality." Robbie said and opened the carton. "By the way," he added as he poured the juice into the cups, "That was literally the girliest answer you could have given."

"I like fruity things, what do you want from me?" Dipper defended with a pout.

"Your man card has been revoked." Robbie stated.

They continued joking as such all the while slowly drinking their beverage. Dipper hadn't expected to spend the entire party with just Robbie but he found it had been rather pleasant. One drink had quickly become two and then five. Dipper eventually lost count and the next thing he knew, he was sitting on the front steps of the house with Robbie. The latter had his head against his shoulder and he seemed to be nodding off. They were both quite drunk. Ford would be so mad when he and Mabel finally came home. The thought had him laughing.

"What's so funny?" Robbie grumbled drowsily.

"Nothing." Dipper chuckled, "I'm just going to get the biggest lecture of my life tomorrow."

"Drinking underage is bad." Robbie nodded.

"Says the twenty year old." The brunet smirked.

"Hey, my birthday is eventually." Robbie pointed out, "I'm almost twenty one."

"In three years I'll almost be twenty one too." Dipper said.

"Good for you." Robbie mumbled evidently disinterested as he nuzzled his head into the crook of Dipper's neck. The latter flinched and stifled a giggle, having been tickled by Robbie's hair. "Shut your face." He grumbled.

"Sorry."

"I'm trying to sleep."

"Uh…shouldn't you go back home then?" Dipper suggested, "This isn't the best place to snooze."

"Shut up, I do what I want." Robbie stated childishly though it was evident he wasn't serious. Eventually, he pulled away, blinking lazily. "I probably should go home though."

"Yeah, same." Dipper agreed, "But I have to get Mabel."

"Well, goodnight then." Robbie said and he unexpectedly leaned in for what was likely meant to be nothing more than a goodnight kiss.

Dipper stiffened as his lips were pressed to his chastely. His heart was suddenly thumping madly in his chest and he was disoriented and confused. Robbie, on the other hand, was very unfazed. He grinned sluggishly before pushing himself onto his feet and nearly falling flat on his butt. He maintained his balance, however, and stumbled down the stairs.

"A-are you going to be fine to walk home on your own?" Dipper croaked, still flustered by the kiss.

"Don't even worry about it." Robbie assured with a drunken laugh just before falling onto the front lawn. "I am totally fine." He declared as he found his way back onto his feet.

Dipper watched him trudge down the sidewalk, steadily disappearing into the surrounding darkness. It was probably the early hours of the morning at this point. He sighed heavily thinking of the long walk ahead of him. He would likely have to carry Mabel for a good portion of it too as she was probably worse off than he was. The brunet stood and walked into the house, remaining at the entrance as he called for his sister. She showed up shortly after, stumbling about worse than Robbie.

"You're so wasted." Dipper breathed and Mabel laughed loudly.

"Yep! Grunkle Ford's gonna be _p-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i_." She stated proudly.

"What?" Her brother asked, confused. "Never mind, let's just go."

They left the house slowly. Mabel leaned against Dipper for support to walk down the stairs and was too lazy to unpeel herself from him as they made their way down the sidewalk. It was a good thing as Dipper found he also had a hard time walking and Mabel was somehow helping. Thus they walked in utter darkness, slowly progressing back to the Mystery Shack. Ten minutes in the walk, cop cars and an ambulance suddenly rushed past them, sirens blaring. Both winced at the piercing sound and flashing lights, but neither thought anything of it.

The vehicles rushed down the road and turned the left corner abruptly, tires screeching. As curious as Dipper was, he was too intoxicated to want to go out of his way to find out what was going. However, some fifteen minutes later, the twins found themselves walking past the cops' destination as it was on their way. They got there just in time to see a most curious sight. A man – or maybe it was a woman – was being rolled out on a gurney. Their body was petrified in an awkward position and Dipper noticed how much they resembled the other victims from the DC murders. Their skin was yellowed and decomposed, clinging to their bones. Their eyes were black, hollowed, and most of their hairs was missing. Neither twins realised they had stopped to stare until a police officer yelled at them to return home immediately.


	6. Monsters on the Second Floor

Dipper woke up with a hangover, though, he supposed, it could have been worse. He stumbled out of bed and walked into the nearest bathroom. He took a few pills for his headache and slight nausea before venturing downstairs. The living room was curiously empty, but he could hear the small TV in the kitchen buzzing with sound and so assumed it was where everyone was. He stumbled into the room groggily and immediately went for the coffee machine though his growling stomach quickly protested his choice. He glanced at the TV as he passed, finding that Ford and Stan had tuned into the news and were watching the current weather report.

"Good morning." Ford said dryly.

"Morning…" Dipper replied hesitantly, stiffening at his tone.

Was it bad that he didn't remember most of his night?

"Did you have fun at the party?" He asked, clearly uninterested in the honest answer.

"Jesus Christ, Ford." Stan groaned, "Lay off the kid. It's not like he killed someone."

"Not only did they drink but they _walked_ home." Ford pointed out, "They could have been arrested for public intoxication had a police cruiser passed by. Then they would have been filed into the system, and you know how bad that is, especially for kids—"

"But they didn't and that's all that matters." Stan insisted. "Besides, worse things could have happened."

"You're too lenient with them." Ford reproached.

Dipper decided to ignore the ensuing argument between his Grunkles. He made himself a cup of coffee and slacked on the sugar given his rough state. Then he fetched himself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table. He hardly began eating when his Grunkles suddenly stopped their bickering in favour of listening to the news. Dipper curiously turned his attention towards the TV and froze when he saw Shandra speaking with the photo of a house covered in yellow police tape next to her face. His memories came flooding back all of a sudden. He remembered walking, the police cars and an ambulance rushing by, stopping in front of a house, and seeing a mummy-like body being rolled out on a gurney.

"Breaking news; as it seems the DC murders have unexpectedly made their way to Gravity Falls." Shandra related, "Robert Chang was found dead in his home late last night by his wife. From what little information we have, the state of his body matches those of the DC victims. This is gravely concerning and the chief of the sheriff's department has yet to make an official statement on the matter. Additionally, it seems the government organisation charged with investigating the DC murders has arrived in Gravity Falls."

Ford shut the TV and tension weighed on them. None of them had been expecting the murders to suddenly arrive to Gravity Falls. It was a most curious turn of events, one that would likely wind up with the Pines family's intervention. As far as Dipper was concerned, the abrupt shift of murder locations was proof enough that a supernatural thing was at cause if the state of the victims was disregarded.

"One normal _freaking_ summer." Stan groaned and buried his face in his hands out of exasperation, "That's all I wanted."

"We're going to get involved, aren't we?" Dipper asked though he already knew the answer.

"We don't have a choice." Ford said, "If that government organisation hasn't managed to settle things this long after the first murder, than it must be because this is beyond their capabilities."

"So what's our move?"

"We're going to gather the family to discuss just that." Ford assured, "However, we're going to wait after Mabel and Bill. They need their rest."

Dipper frowned. "What did Bill do that was so exhausting?"

"I…I rather not say." Ford muttered quickly, flustered.

Dipper tensed as he remembered the final comment he had heard Bill make before they left for the party. "Oh my god…" Dipper groaned. It was too early to be alluding to sex.

"You two are worse than a couple of teenagers." Stan commented and took a bite out of his toast, "I mean, has there been a night so far where the two of you _haven't_ screwed?"

" _Stanley_!" Ford chastised, embarrassed.

"It's an honest question." Stan defended.

"Don't…just don't." Dipper practically begged, " _Please_."

Stan chuckled as he reached for the newspaper. He flipped through the pages until he got to the comic strips section. He was likely enjoying his final moments of normalcy. The supernatural would soon be the only topic of conversation floating around the house until the murders were resolved. Dipper reckoned he should do the same. He sipped at his cup of coffee when the sound of cars pulling into the Mystery Shack parking caught their attention. All three made confused faces.

"What the hell?" Stan asked.

"Isn't it Saturday?" Dipper mentioned.

"The Mystery Shack's closed…" Ford muttered.

Suddenly there was shouting and rapid steps charging towards the house. Stan, Ford, and Dipper barely managed to stand from the table when people cladded in bullet proof vests and black armour crashed through the windows and broke down the doors. They all carried guns and those who came in through the kitchen window pointed their weapons in their directions. The three raised their hands instinctively. Dipper was both confused and scared but the latter emotion was shoved aside when he heard Mabel shouting from the attic.

"Mabel!" He yelled and made to run to her, but an armed man stepped in his way.

"Don't move!" He ordered and threatened to pull the trigger.

He slinked back, glaring at the man.

"What the hell's going on!?" Stan barked.

No one answered him. Instead, the man that had blocked Dipper moved aside to allow one of his accomplices to shove Mabel with the rest of them. She was still in her pyjamas and her hair was an utter mess. However, she seemed positively pissed off. She had fallen back into one of her terrible moods and Dipper had no idea how she managed to keep herself from flinging bursts of magic their way.

"Hey, sweetie," Stan said, turning his attention to his great niece, "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine." She answered dryly.

"Don't do anything brash." Ford whispered to her. He had also noticed her horrible mood.

"I'm really trying not to." Mabel said through gritted teeth.

Then there was another eruption of struggle as the invaders found Bill. Ford clenched his teeth and fists together, desperately willing himself not to run for his lover. Of course, if any of them had expected the demon to cooperate with any of the intruders willingly, they were gravely mistaken. After hearing the initial shouts of the men ordering him not to move, there was a loud crash as though a wall had been broken. Then there were a few pained screams and more men suddenly rushed to help apprehend Bill. The demon was eventually thrown into the kitchen with the rest of them. He wore nothing but a night robe loosely covering him. He glared at the men pointing the guns in his direction.

For a moment, Dipper thought he was going to attack again but Ford pulled him into an embrace. At first, it seemed like the action had been done out of concern but then the teen caught brief hints of a whisper. Ford had likely told Bill to follow his lead and not do anything without his say so. The blonde responded with a nearly imperceptible nod before the two pulled away from one another.

"You've got us all gathered," Stan practically hissed, "Now what the hell do you want?"

No one gave an answer and Stan was quickly getting all the more irritated. Before he could demand answers again, however, they heard heavy steps sound up the front porch and into the house. Dipper gulped thickly and anxiously waited to see who would be coming through the kitchen door. Whoever it was clearly commanded authority. He was honestly expecting some huge guy with an eyepatch and a couple of tattoos high lighting his scars. Instead, Dipper was baffled to find Agent Powers. The man bore a serious expression and his eyes instantly fell upon Ford.

"Somehow, I knew you Pines were involved."


	7. Never Welcome Here

Agent Powers took a seat at the kitchen table as though everything were normal. They stared at him in awe, unable to grasp that the men and women cladded in bullet proof armor who had stormed their house were nothing more than government agents from their secret paranormal investigation organisation. Dipper pressed a hand over his chest as his beating heart steadily calmed to a normal rhythm. Had it really been necessary to put everyone under the impression that they were all going to be assassinated in such a way?

"Well," Agent Powers said and gestured the remaining vacant seats at the table, "Have a seat."

Stan scoffed. "Have a seat, he says. Like we aren't surrounded by people with semi-automatics."

Mabel and Dipper nodded approvingly. They still had no clue why the agents in their house were present and none of them felt particularly safe. Regardless, Ford shrugged and sat on the chair directly across Agent Powers. It took a moment for the others to begin moving around. Dipper sat on Ford's left with Mabel whereas Stan moved to the right but opted to stand in front of his chair while Bill loomed directly behind. His gaze was sharp, assessing, and he kind of looked terrifying. He was likely ready to slaughter everyone and was waiting the cue to do so.

"I've got to say, Agent," Ford began smoothly as Agent Powers gestured his men and women to lower their weapons. They slowly retreated from the kitchen though four remained posted at the entrances with their fingers on the triggers, "That was quite an entrance you made."

Ford had fallen into Agent Powers's radar ever since the Weirdmageddon with Bill. He had popped up out of nowhere after years of being presumed dead and he looked no older than he did when he first disappeared. Not to mention things always got weird around him. The organisation was always contacted about the strangest stories at the center of which was Ford who continuously denied anything supernatural or unusual ever having taken place. The two immediately developed one of the strangest relationships Dipper had witnessed over the subsequent years. His great uncle respected Agent Powers, this much was obvious, however, he insisted on playing dumb when it came to the strange happenings of Gravity Falls because, according to him, the government couldn't be trusted.

"You're always trying to pull a fast one on me, Pines." Agent Powers replied with an amused grin, "You succeed more times than I would like to admit. Had to make sure I caught all of you in one swoop." He paused and looked over at Bill who all but glared death at him, "You can tell your friend not to worry."

"He knows already." Ford responded.

And without missing a beat, Agent Powers asked: "What is he, by the way?"

Dipper and Mabel stiffened. How did he know Bill wasn't human? Nothing about his appearance gave it away and he hadn't done anything that was out of human norms thus far – with the exception of having thrown people through a wall, or so it sounded, but Agent Powers hadn't witnessed it.

"His boyfriend." The demon smirked and Agent Powers scowled at him. "What? It's true."

"It is." Ford confirmed.

"Fine. Treat this as a joke." Agent Powers grumbled.

"Look, let's cut to the chase," Stan intervened impatiently, "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"The DC murders." He began grimly and Dipper had suspected just that, "They recently moved to Gravity Falls and that's no coincidence."

Mabel's hand instinctively wandered to Dipper's upon having heard the statement. He glanced at her worriedly and she seemed nervous. He had to admit he also felt a bit unsettled; they had stumbled upon the victim being rolled out of his house the night before. It was something they should definitely mention to Ford once the agents had left.

"Murderers move around all the time." Stan stated.

"This guy or _thing_ isn't normal." Agent Powers nearly hissed, "They stayed in Washington DC for six months before spontaneously moving presumably three days ago."

"Maybe they were getting close to being caught." Stan suggested.

"If that were the case, they wouldn't have killed again so soon." Agent Powers said, "This isn't normal."

"So gremlins are obviously the cause." Ford said sarcastically.

"Don't play games with me, Pines." Agent Powers reproached, "I know you're involved in the supernatural. You know what really goes bump in the night."

"Of course I do." Ford agreed, his words as cynic as ever, "It's the tooth fairy and Santa Claus."

"Damn it, Pines!" Agent Powers snapped and slammed his fist onto the table, "I'm looking to form an alliance! I want us to work together to put a stop to these terrible murders!"

Dipper glanced over at his great uncle, unsure what he was going to respond to the declaration. Ford had refused on multiple occasions to work with the government and that particular organisation. Would he change his mind in light of the recent tragedies?

"I'm an independent researcher." He said and then gestured Bill, "He's a freeloader," then he pointed at Stan, "He's a shop owner and tour guide among many other things," and then at Mabel and Dipper, "And they're kids. How are we supposed to help with a murder investigation?"

The answer was evidently no. Dipper couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. People were dying in the strangest of ways; why should they resist helping the investigators? They had briefly discussed wanting to get involved beforehand though lacked information in regards to the deaths but Agent Powers could easily provide what they needed if they simply agreed to work with him. However, Ford never did anything without reason. If he didn't want to work with that government organisation, it was for a very specific reason that he would likely share the moment these people left the Mystery Shack.

"People's lives are at stake." Agent Powers insisted, "I know you've saved a lot of people a year ago. Now I don't know how you did it or even what you did, I just know it must have happened otherwise my agents and I wouldn't have been in Gravity Falls with a small army. I want to put aside our differences to solve this problem."

"I don't see how I could be of any help." Ford reiterated, leaning back in his chair with a look of determination. He wasn't about to change his mind.

Agent Powers sighed deeply and turned to Dipper, "You believed in us before." He told him, "You thought we were capable of helping once upon a time."

Dipper's mouth fell open. He remembered how he approached Agent Powers and his partner about the strange things happening in Gravity Falls five years ago. He had believed in them but, somewhere along the way, that trust had vanished. He wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it had been because he learned the nefarious alternative intentions of the organisation – hadn't they planned to use some of the supernatural for military purposes? The teen couldn't quite remember the specifics and he was mostly following Ford's lead. He trusted his great uncle more than he did Agent Powers and his organisation.

"What happened to your partner?" Dipper opted to ask instead.

Agent Powers's expression grimed and he looked away. For a moment he said nothing. "He…" his voice sounded a bit choked, "He was killed less than a week ago. He was the second last victim before the murders moved to Gravity Falls."

"We're sorry for your loss." Ford said, "But there's nothing we can do for you."

Agent Powers looked at Dipper, hoping for a different answer.

"I'm just a kid." Dipper said.

He seemed unsatisfied with his answer. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes briefly before standing. "Fine." He said icily, "But let me be clear, Pines. If I catch you conducting something akin to a personal investigation or getting involved somehow, you will suffer grave consequences."

"Hope you catch the killer soon." Stan wished with contempt, "I hear children's teeth attract the tooth fairy so you might want to find a couple of seven year olds."

Agent Powers didn't grace his words with a response. He simply left the kitchen and barked an order at his agents. They stayed in place and listened as they stomped out of the Mystery Shack and huddled back into their black SUVs. They drove away and the Pines waited an additional ten minutes to make sure they were truly alone.

"Why didn't we—" Dipper began, but he was immediately hushed by Ford.

"Check for bugs." He told Bill.

The demon nodded and raised his hands glowing with blue magic. In just a few seconds, multiple chips flew through the walls and hovered above the blonde's head. There were a considerable amount. When he was sure he had found all of them, Bill destroyed them with a brief flick of the wrist. He then teleported the broken micro electronic devices elsewhere.

"Why didn't we agree to work with them?" Dipper asked. "He wanted to help!"

"I don't want to get into the government's radar permanently." Ford answered, "Bill and I are immortal. We'll be here long after the rest of you are gone. I don't want the government harassing us for keys or answers on immortality. I plan to live in solitude and peace until the end of time."

"Couldn't you just get Bill to make them forget we ever worked together?" Dipper asked.

"It wouldn't work." The demon said, "Those guys have a pretty decent system to track supernatural happenings, most of which take place in Gravity Falls. All it would take for them to regain their memories is a short investigation in the town."

"They have no clue how involved we are in everything," Ford continued, "But if they were to remember, then they would have an idea. So far, they only have Agent Powers's hunch to work with but none of them have actual proof of any sort that we're aware of the supernatural."

"How come they haven't remembered the _Tadpocalypse_?" Mabel asked curiously. Dipper reckoned the title she invented was far catchier than the Warlock Crisis, "If being in Gravity Falls would spark their memories of us working with them, how come they still can't remember what happened last summer?"

"Because those memories are linked specifically to Tad and not the town." Bill explained, "If you were simply to say the Warlock's full name in front of them, then they would remember everything."

"So what happens now?" Stan asked, "Agent Douchepants doesn't want us investigating on our own, so how are we supposed to solve the murders?"

"A lot of it will be hacking." Ford admitted, "I'm going to break into that organisation's database and gather whatever information there is in regards to the murders. From there I'll try to find something that links all the victims together and we'll work from there."

"How long do you reckon that'll take?" Dipper asked.

"Where I might have told you a few hours," Ford said, "I'd now say a few days. I think Agent Powers will be paying particular attention to their online data system in anticipation of a hacking on our part. I'll have to be careful more than ever to sneak in so I'll have to wait until the end of the week. Until then, we should try to get information on the latest victim by just speaking to Gravity Falls residents. We can't be arrested for speculating and chatting up the locals, so we should be fine."

"Sounds good to me." Stan said, "I've been getting a lot of questions in regards to the DC murders from tourists anyways what with the Mystery Shack being a den of the weird."

"Actually, now that I have the time to mention it," Dipper began and glanced at Mabel – she seemed lost in her thoughts, "Mabel and I saw the latest victim being rolled out on a gurney last night."

"Really?" Ford asked.

"Yeah, it was on our way back." Mabel added, "They looked just like the other victims. We didn't really learn much else though."

"Didn't Shandra say the victim was a man?" Stan asked.

"Robert Chang, I think his name was." Dipper mused.

The name was familiar for some reason. He couldn't quite place it though.

"Right, well, now, we essentially wait."


	8. Hungry for the Kill

Three days later, there was another murder in Gravity Falls. The strange and inexplicable shift in locations had consequently attracted multiple big news companies some of which were even from different countries. One could no longer wander downtown without stumbling upon an anchor recording lines for a speculation filled story on what was going on. Some even had criminologists with them to consult so as to add more weight and plausibility to whatever nonsense they were spewing. They truly were milking the story for all it was worth.

As for Agent Powers and his organisation, they had mostly disappeared. Dipper reckoned they could likely be spotted around the homes of the recent victims but he couldn't know for sure. Ford had warned them not to go near those places as Agent Powers certainly meant to keep the promise of consequences he had alluded to upon temporarily invading the Mystery Shack. The teen wasn't about to test whether the man truly had been serious or not either. Besides, Ford had the semblances of a plan in the works. It was best to simply follow his lead.

Dipper laid on his bed pointlessly staring at the ceiling above. He thought back on everything that had happened and had to admit he was somewhat afraid. This situation was much different from when Tad was running amok, hunting Bill down in time for the next full moon. In said case, Tad's only intended victim had been Bill. None of them had truly been in danger until he had gained immeasurable power and went on a killing spree. This new adversary, however, had been steadily cutting through folks in the most peculiar of ways for six months. From what Dipper assumed based off Agent Powers reaching out to them, despite having access to the crime scenes, the government's paranormal investigation organisation had no clue as to what was going on nor how to solve it.

"What are you thinking about?" Mabel asked.

She had been sitting on her own bed, mindlessly paging through a celebrity gossip magazine. Occasionally, she paused to answer some of the few dumb personality quizzes and giggled to herself upon reading her results. Other than that, she hadn't really made much of a sound and it had been easy for Dipper to forget she was there.

"Oh, um," Dipper said and turned his head in her direction, "Just about how…this is kind of scary."

"Scarier than the whole thing with Tad?" She asked, a tight smile gracing her lips. She was likely remembering the terrifying event.

"Yeah, I think." Dipper admitted. He may still be having nightmares of Tad murdering him or slaughtering his family, but, in the end, those weren't real. The murders wherein the victims resembled decomposing mummies – that was real. That was subject to be feared. "I mean, anyone could be next. What if it's one of us?"

Mabel stiffened and glared at her magazine. "I…I didn't think of that…" She admitted.

"I mean," Dipper continued, "I guess Bill could always bring us back if one of us died…"

"Hun, I guess." Mabel agreed with a huff.

Dipper forced a smile his sister didn't see because she wasn't looking at him. It soon faded and he turned his gaze back to the ceiling. Death seemed mostly irrelevant with Bill around at full power. None of them were in any real danger, he supposed. And yet, Dipper wasn't sure he would want Bill to bring him back if he died. There was a sort of peace to be found in death. He had learned not to fear it for himself after having taken a philosophy class during his senior high school year. Epicure had helped a lot. That being said, he didn't feel the same about the deaths of those he loved. Sure they would be at peace and one with the cosmos, but Dipper feared that their loss, their absence would cripple him and spoil what little joys he had found in life. He had no idea if he could go on if Ford, Stan, Mabel, or even Bill died.

"Hey Dipper…" Mabel called quietly from her bed.

Dipper snapped out of his thoughts and glanced over again. "Yeah?"

She hesitated for a moment, chewing her lower lip as though she were deliberating whether she should say what she wanted to. "I…" Mabel began but paused. Suddenly, resolution filled her eyes. She snapped her gaze upwards and met Dipper's with fierce determination. "I'm going to learn combat magic."

Dipper was admittedly shocked by the statement. He hadn't expected her to choose so soon. In a sense, he couldn't be too surprised. When Mabel had first unlocked her power, aside from flying, one of the first things Bill had showed her was how to fling bursts of magic towards things. They even managed to spar a couple of times. His sister was also an avid fan of the WWE and MMA which made her choice all the less surprising the more he thought about it. However, Mabel was kind and had always been gentle until her 'magical puberty' kicked in. He reckoned she would have chosen something more along the lines of healing magic.

"I'm going to kill whatever's killing people too." She added and Dipper sensed hate in her voice.

It was frightening.

He almost felt like he wasn't speaking with his sister anymore.


	9. Rit plus fort et parle moi

When a week had finally passed, Ford steadily began hacking into the system. The government's database had been revamped since he hacked into it a year ago. Dipper watched him read through code and tap furiously at the keyboard for a moment before deciding he should likely do something else. He left the basement and glanced outside where he saw Mabel and Bill sparring. They were in the backyard, shielded from the coming and going of the Mystery Shack clients. The demon had been overjoyed upon hearing that she wanted to learn combat magic. It was his preferred magic type after all. Dipper watched as his sister pelted the demon with a flurry of magic bursts in a vain attempt to hit him. Bill dodged them effortlessly all the while either taunting or encouraging Mabel. He couldn't hear his voice over the sound of magic exploding.

Dipper supposed he could meditate but just as he was about to do so, his phone buzzed with a text. He blushed upon seeing it was from Robbie. All of a sudden, the rest of his once forgotten memories of the party came flooding back. He remembered the drunken chats and the kiss the older man had given him before leaving. The teen wasn't quite sure why he hadn't remembered sooner but it likely had something to do with how chaotic things had gotten what with the new murders in Gravity Falls and Agent Powers having invaded their home. He took in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Sometimes guys kissed and it meant nothing and that was fine. Robbie had likely meant the kiss as something very platonic, nothing else.

Dipper opened the text and glanced at it hesitantly, "Is that offer to talk still standing?" it read. He sighed in relief. He hadn't really known what he was expecting anyways.

"Sure. Want to meet up?" Dipper texted back and the response came faster than he anticipated.

"Graveyard?"

"On my way."

Dipper marched to the house's entrance, pulled on his worn pine tree hat and slipped on his shoes before leaving. He supposed he ought to text someone he was going to be out but they were all busy and, if they needed him, all they had to do was send him a text. The brunet walked down the road, passing a few cars heading towards the Mystery Shack. The families inside had kids and they all seemed very excited to experience Oregon's biggest tourist trap. Stan would have a field day with them.

He stopped at the bus stop located at the intersection where the road to the Mystery Shack veered onto the high way. He glanced at his phone to look at the time and found his wait would be rather short as the bus was meant to pass soon. When it did, a large group of tourists left the vehicle before Dipper could climb on. From there, it was a short fifteen minute drive to the graveyard.

Robbie was waiting for him by the gates. Despite the hot weather, he wore a black hoodie, black skinny jeans, and even black gloves. Even after five years, Robbie was still the spitting image of an emo kid. That being said, he had gotten more handsome – something Dipper had platonically noticed. He had grown just a couple more inches before his puberty finally subsided. Now he was more muscular and far less lanky than he had once been. There was more meat on his bones and his jaw had squared a bit as well. Though he was still hopelessly pale.

"Hey." Dipper greeted.

He expected a response almost immediately but Robbie was staring blankly at the space in front of him. He looked both tired and lost in his thoughts. The brunet looked around awkwardly before deciding to nudge the other man. The action had successfully taken him out of his thoughts albeit with a loud gasp and a violent jolt.

"Whoa…" Dipper chuckled lightly, taken aback by the reaction. "Sorry about that."

"Wh…no, it's fine." Robbie assured and frowned before brushing some of the black locks from his face, "Hey."

"Hey." Dipper said again and he was slowly starting to feel awkward.

He forced himself not to think about the kiss.

"Been a while since we hung out here." Robbie said and gestured the graveyard with his chin.

"It's been a while since we hung out at all." Dipper smiled.

"Yeah, well, we're not kids anymore." Robbie said and entered the cemetery. "But, technically, you're seventeen so…"

"I'm going to turn eighteen in, like, two months!" Dipper argued playfully.

"You're still seventeen right _now_." Robbie insisted jokingly.

"Shut up!" Dipper fired back and shoved Robbie.

He laughed and raised his hands in surrender. Then, they fell into a comfortable silence for a moment. They simply walked through the graveyard, eventually veering off the main path to wander through the many tombstones. Gravity Falls may not have been the most crowded of places but the cemetery was actually pretty big and host to many memorial statues that must have cost quite a fortune. The two came upon one of the most impressive tombstones – a concrete tree with large, thick branches they used to climb on when they were younger. It was one of the monuments for a rich family that had moved away a long time ago. Beneath the impressive sculpture was a family crypt but it had been neglected and out of use for so long that the door was jammed in place.

"Children first." Robbie teased.

"I will punch you." Dipper warned in good humour.

With that said, he reached for one of the lowest concrete branches and hoisted himself up. Dipper struggled a bit before straddling it. Then he stood up and reached for the next one and so forth until he reached a spot he found comfortable. He glanced down and found Robbie struggling more than he had with the first branch and couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on, Valentino!" Dipper grinned, "What good are all those muscles if you can't even climb up the first branch?"

"Shut your mouth, Pines!" Robbie fired back just as he finally climbed on, "I don't even know why I have muscles, I don't do anything of my days!"

Dipper rolled his eyes and leaned against his perch as the other man moved around the monument. Robbie eventually settled on a branch beneath Dipper's. It was thick enough for him to lay down comfortably so he did. Dipper's roost also conveniently blocked the sun from his face. He smiled contentedly. The former glanced down after a moment and rolled onto his side to see Robbie's face as they spoke.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Dipper asked.

Robbie's smile disappeared and a cold breeze blew, momentarily dissipating the summer heat. Dipper shivered a little but didn't allow the shift in moods to dissuade him. Robbie wanted to talk – he _needed_ to talk. The brunet was there to help and so he would.

"Sometimes…" he started quietly, "Do you get the feeling that…that you can't really control anything you do?" Dipper was about to ask what he meant but he knew the elaboration would come shortly, "Like…" Robbie continued, struggling to make sense out of his thoughts, "Like, you're just a spectator and you only get to watch what's happening without input…"

The only time he had ever felt like that was when Bill had possessed his body for nefarious purposes five years ago. However, he hadn't felt as hopeless as Robbie seemed to be describing.

"When did you start feeling like that?" Dipper questioned.

"I don't know…" Robbie admitted, "It started way before my uncle died. Like, _months_."

"Are you feeling like that right now?" Dipper asked.

Robbie shook his head but smiled bitterly, his eyes fluttering open. Dipper was taken aback by the look of hopeless resignation they bore. It was worrying. "No," he said, "Right now I feel like something that always comes before 'auto-pilot mode' or whatever…I feel like…" and he stopped, staring at Dipper curiously, "I feel like…like the colours of the sky and the grass are all wrong…like none of this is real. Like you're not real."

"You mean…" the brunet began but paused, "You mean like it's as though this were all a dream?"

"Honestly, yeah."

Dipper frowned. What Robbie felt was a product of grief. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Of course he was real but saying so wasn't going to help Robbie when he seemed to doubt what his eyes were showing him. But, suddenly, he knew what to do. The brunet reached down, he couldn't touch the other man but the latter understood what he wanted. He slowly raised his own hand and gripped Dipper's, weaving their fingers together.

"I'm real." He said and gave a small smile. Then he squeezed Robbie's hand so tight the other flinched in sudden pain and tried to pull away, but Dipper wouldn't let him. He held on and added: "That was real too. This is all real."

Robbie looked astonished. He bit his lower lip and looked away just as Dipper finally allowed the other's hand to fall back onto his stomach. The brunet allowed his arm to hang emptily in the space between he and Robbie.

"Do you believe me?" Dipper asked softly.

"Yes."

"I read somewhere that people who feel disconnected from the world need to feel something to snap them out of it." Dipper said after a moment. "Maybe you should wear a rubber band around your wrist and whenever you start feeling like that, you snap it against your skin."

"That sounds like a good idea…" Robbie mused softly.

"Can I be honest with you?" Dipper asked and he waited for Robbie to nod before proceeding, "I have these really bad nightmares and sometimes they get the better of me…"

"What are they about?" Robbie asked.

Dipper flinched. He thought of Tad chasing him through the woods and slitting Bill's throat. "It-it's not really important…" he brushed off. He couldn't tell Robbie even if he wanted to because the memories Bill had taken away of last summer would come flooding back. "It's just…when I get overwhelmed like I sometimes do when I wake up, I think of a happy memory that means a lot to me. I force myself to remember every single detail – or the most details that I can, and it helps calm me down."

"What do you think of?" Robbie probed.

"A lot of things, I don't pick just one." Dipper answered with a soft smile. As true as it was, he always thought of one particular memory more times than not. It was rather simple and there was nothing extraordinary about it; it simply was of supper a year ago with Mabel, Stan, Ford and Bill. He didn't know why that memory stuck with him so much, but he had never quite felt happier than in that moment. It was strange too considering the Warlock Crisis had just ended. "Epicure believed we should all strive to find pleasure in life," he added, "Pleasure would lead to peace in the body and soul and, consequently, to a happy life. However, life isn't without its ups and downs and, in moments of pain, he believed the only way to beat them was by reminiscing happier times. So maybe doing that could help you too."

"Geez, Dipper." Robbie smirked, "You're really smart, hun?"

"I know that I know nothing." Dipper grinned.

"Don't be a nerd." Robbie laughed and closed his eyes. He slipped his hands beneath his head and breathed in deeply, "Thanks."

"Any time." Dipper smiled.

And they stayed like that, in the concrete tree, until the sun fell and a text from Ford beckoned Dipper back to the Mystery Shack.


	10. Patiently Circling

When Dipper returned to the Mystery Shack, no one questioned him on where he had been. Everyone simply gathered into the living room and took their usual places. The conversation hadn't even started yet and Stan looked completely done already. As funny as it was, Dipper felt a little bad. They really should try to spend their family time normally rather than chase after supernatural things all the time. But they were Pines. They helped people and they stopped the unimaginable from destroying the world because no one else would. Like it or not, it was their specialty.

Dipper sat on the sofa next to Mabel, tangling their legs together in the vacant space between. He noticed how his sister breathed heavily and seemed a bit out of breath. She must have only recently stopped sparring with Bill. Though when he glanced at the demon, he looked entirely fine. He wasn't the least bit sweaty. He was perfect like he always was. It was slightly frustrating. Dipper snapped out of it when Ford began speaking.

"I just hacked into the database and collected as much information as I could on the victims and the state of their bodies." The man explained, hands behind his back as he paced from one end of the room to the other, "They don't have much to offer in terms of information that the news wasn't privy to. The victims died from seemingly natural causes and no wounds whatsoever were found. It was as though time sped up specifically for them. Their state also matches that of five thousand year old mummies which is most peculiar."

"Do any of the victims have anything in common?" Dipper asked.

"Unfortunately, they do." Ford answered grimly.

"Unfortunately?" Stan repeated curiously.

"It's Gravity Falls." He specified. "The agents killed in Washington DC were all a part of a mission that brought them to Gravity Falls a year ago."

"Tad, hun?" Stan grumbled, leaning back into his sofa chair. He was still bitter from his friend's betrayal a full year later. Dipper didn't blame him. They had once been so close.

"Yes." Ford confirmed, "However, nothing else connects these people together. I don't know why whoever or whatever is doing this stopped killing the agents and moved to Gravity Falls citizen, and I don't know how the victims are being chosen. It seems random."

"Do you think they'll go back to killing agents?" Mabel asked.

"It's hard to tell." Ford admitted, "I want to say yes but I don't understand why the murderer simply wouldn't have killed all of the agents back in DC seeing as they were all in the city before moving here."

Mabel nodded in acknowledgement. It didn't actually make sense so it was a relatively safe bet to assume the other agents weren't in any real danger at the moment. However, her face suddenly scrunched up pensively, as though there were something that puzzled or bothered her.

"Who were the victims in Gravity Falls in the first place?" Mabel probed.

"Uh…I think there's only been three so far?" Ford mused; there had been a third victim just the other day, "The only name I remember is Robert Chang."

"Robert Chang…" Mabel hummed, "Isn't…didn't we investigate him or something last summer when we were looking for the Warlock?"

"Oh yeah." Bill drawled as he suddenly remembered as well, "He was the one guy who had a huge collection he showed to people for his ego."

Dipper suddenly remembered running through a burning town with his sister and great uncle. He remembered glancing at a house as they passed by, spotting a man that had hung himself in his bathroom so as to avoid a terrible fate in the midst of Tad's chaos. Now that he thought about it, hadn't that been Robert Chang? He shook his head, it was probably irrelevant.

"Do we at least have an idea on what could be doing this?" Dipper probed, changing the subject.

"No…" Ford answered slowly.

"Nothing in this dimension is capable of killing like that aside from me." Bill added. He was hovering off to the left, near a wall with his legs crossed as though he were sitting on a chair rather than floating in the air. "And it's not me, Sixer can attest to that."

"This one's going to be buckets of fun." Stan groaned sarcastically.

"Is it possible it's a new creature we haven't discovered yet?" Dipper asked.

"I'm an all-seeing, powerful demon. I'm the strongest thing in this dimension." Bill boasted, "I know every single creature that has lived, is living, and will live here. There isn't anything capable of this and there won't ever be. I would have sensed it."

"Are you sure?" Dipper pressed.

"Kid, you're offending me." Bill pouted and turned his head away pointedly.

"Is it possible it's some magic weapon?" Mabel asked. "If that's even possible."

"Not all magical weapons leave clear wounds or wounds at all." Bill said, "It's entirely possible."

"The thought crossed my mind," Ford nodded, "However, it would mean the wielder is incredibly skilled. The crime scenes were found absolutely clean with no signs of an altercation. In some cases, the victim was found in a locked room with locked windows and no other alternative way out. I don't know how any human would be capable of that."

"What if it's not a human?" Stan suggested.

"A monster _could_ be the culprit," Ford conceded, "But they rarely ever rely on weapons nor do they leave such clean and bloodless corpses behind."

"A human would have been caught." Stan said, "The only logical conclusion here is that it's a monster with a magical weapon."

"Bill?" Ford asked, turning to his lover for input.

"It's unlikely but the only thing that makes sense." He acknowledged, "I have an idea of where the weapon could stem from too. It sounds like something those kooky Egyptian Gods would cook up just for fun."

"The Egyptian Gods are real?" Dipper awed.

"Duh." Bill snarled as though he had just asked the dumbest question. Dipper was a little offended himself. His question had been totally reasonable.

"So what do we do?" Stan asked, "We can't track down the weapon the same way we did for the Enochian dagger because monsters don't have to register artifacts. How are we supposed to find it?"

"There has to be a pattern to the way it chooses its victims." Ford insisted, "We have to figure it out so we can anticipate its next move and stop it. We also need to form a list of possible supernatural creatures it could be. It needs to be able to leave rooms without having to open doors, have a reputation of leaving relatively clean kills, and be intelligent enough to wield a weapon. The last thing we need to do is figure out what weapon it could be using, at which point we have to understand it and see if there's a way of reversing the damage made not to mention protect ourselves against it."

"Damn, that sounds like a lot of work." Stan sighed.

"Don't worry, Stanley." Ford smiled at his brother, "You won't have to do much. At the very least, I want you to look over the files I printed of each victim and see if you can come up with a pattern."

"That's fine with me." He shrugged, "I've got no talent for all this supernatural mumbo jumbo anyways."

"That's not true!" Mabel insisted, "You're great at killing stuff!"

"I am, aren't I?" Stan smirked.

"Bill," Ford continued, glancing at the demon, "I want you to scour the deepest parts of the globe and investigate the most obscure myths in an attempt to find the murder weapon."

"Will do." He sang and suddenly teleported next to Ford to give him a kiss. "Don't miss me too much. I'll send you postcards." He winked and then disappeared.

Ford blushed and shook his head. "Anyways," he cleared his throat, "Dipper, Mabel, I also want the two of you to see if you can find a pattern to the victims. I'll also need your help in sorting through all the supernatural creatures and composing a list. It's going to be a lot of work."

"That's fine." Dipper shrugged.

"Yeah," Mabel agreed, "Whatever helps."

"Then let's get to work."


	11. Nothing's Making Sense

The first thing the twins did was sort through boxes filled with documents concerning magical creatures. Ford had spent the previous night going through all of his belongings so as to separate those with relevant information to their task and those without. In total, it came down to twelve huge boxes and so the three each took four for themselves. While they sorted through, Stan both took care of the Mystery Shack with Wendy's help and looked over the murder files of each victim. The only thing he had found was that the murderer had always chosen its next victim within a nearby radius to its last kill. That being said, they didn't always choose the one who was conveniently the closest. The same seemed to be true for the Gravity Falls murders and so the Pines had an idea of the next murder's location. And though Stan also asked his clients if they knew anything about the recent victims, no one could provide even the beginnings of hints to a different link. They still didn't quite understand the pattern in which they were being chosen.

During the days it took to compile a list and see if any concrete link or pattern could be found within the investigation reports of Agent Powers's organisation, Bill would send them postcards. The missives appeared without warning. They simply popped out of thin air and fluttered into someone's lap or hand. Stan had actually gotten one in the midst of a tour and the feat had earned him a lot of extra cash. Nonetheless, as far as they were all concerned, the demon stole the things from gift shops as he wandered the globe in search of the potential murder weapon. He left messages on the cards he sent them, hardly ever updating them on his progress and, instead, opting to write jokes or things he saw that he had thought were funny. Most postcards just had the Pines rolling their eyes.

In the end, their extensive work came down to a list of twenty one species intelligent enough to commit such elaborate murders. Dipper looked the list over in exasperation. Some of the given creatures were composed of multiple races and were simply vast in number. Approaching a leader and requesting aid in discovering the murderer was out of the question for a great portion of them. Some were violent by nature, others hated humans, whereas the rest were protective of one another regardless of the atrocities one of their own may or may not have committed.

Dipper couldn't help but lament that their task would take forever. Summer would likely end before they discovered the culprit and, by then, more murders would have taken place. So many more people would die.

"I think it's time we gather the family again." Ford sighed when he looked over the final file of his last box.

"Bill hasn't come back yet." Mabel said just as another postcard fell through the air in graceful twirls, landing on Dipper's lap.

"He's in China now." He read, skimming through the words scribbled on the back.

"Did he write anything useful?" Ford asked as he stood.

"Uhh…yes." Dipper said and he was rather surprised, "He says he's going to be done in five hours."

"Good." Ford nodded, "Hopefully, whatever information he brings back will help narrow down the list."

The three gathered the files of the relevant creatures and hauled them upstairs. They spread them over the coffee table in the living room before fetching Stan. He had conveniently finished his last tour of the day and was letting Wendy finish up with the final few customers. Dipper reckoned he should swing by her before she left to fill her in on what was going on. She was curious and maybe she had something to suggest or offer that could help them.

"Alright, what are we hunting down?" Stan asked and sat on his sofa chair.

"We don't know yet." Mabel sighed and leaned her head onto her hand.

"What she means to say is that we have a vast list of candidates." Ford specified and gestured the folders on the coffee table.

"We've got elves, gnomes, orcs, dryads, pixies..." Dipper listed briefly and he couldn't hide his exasperation in his tone.

Stan arched an eyebrow and reached over to one of the files. "Troglodyte?" he read quizzically.

"Lizard people." Mabel supplied.

"Oh."

"When Bill returns, he'll be able to help us narrow down the list." Ford assured, "For now, we can cut out a few of them on our own. The dryads, for example, would only attack a human if a tree were to have been harmed. On the off chance all of the victims had harmed trees under its protection, it wouldn't have been able to leave its forest thus, at the very least, all the DC victims would have been fine."

"So no dryads." Dipper repeated and retrieved the folder.

"Merfolk are water bound." Mabel said and reached for the folder as well.

"On that note we can also get rid of the Warlocks, Witches, and Wizards." Ford announced.

"Why?" Dipper asked as he gathered the three files.

"This used to be Tad's territory." Ford explained, "Warlocks, Witches, and Wizards are solitary and respect one another's borders. On occasions, there will be fights to steal someone else's land but those are rare and Tad was incredibly strong. No one knows what happened to him so no one would come seeking vengeance on his behalf."

"And if someone were doing that, it wouldn't make sense for them to go after that agency and Gravity Falls civilians." Dipper acknowledged, "Considering we were the ones who defeated him."

"Exactly." Ford nodded.

"Sixteen left." Stan huffed and leaned into his seat.

Ford was just about to continue with the next file when loud banging at the door interrupted him. He gave them all curious looks before shrugging and making his way to the front door. The door creaked open and suddenly they heard Agent Powers snapping at Ford. Dipper's blood turned to ice and he glanced worriedly at the files on the coffee table. Without wasting a second, he messily gathered the folders with his sister's help and stuffed them beneath the sofa cushions on which they sat. Stan stood up and peered expectantly at the other end of the room, waiting for the man to come stomping over. Sure enough, seconds later, he was shoving past Ford and storming the living room. His eyes, however, were curiously glued to Stan and he seemed absolutely angry with him.

"What did I say about meddling in this case!?" He snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Stan frowned.

"Stop talking about the murders to your customers!" Agent Powers demanded.

"This is the Mystery Shack." Stan snorted, "It's home to the weird and inexplicable; I can't stop people from being curious and who am I to deprive myself of extra cash by indulging?"

"But you're not just indulging, are you?" He accused. "Recently, whenever one of my agents begin to question a civilian, they're always being redirected to this hunk of junk for more answers!"

"I'm charismatic and charming, what do you want?" Stan shrugged, "It's part of the trade."

"Your warning was in terms of getting involved with your investigation, which we haven't." Ford stated, crossing his arms over his chest, "We haven't even been near any of the victims' homes nor spoken to some of their family or friends. This outburst was uncalled for."

"Yeah, we're not doing anything suspicious." Stan hammered in unnecessarily.

Just then, a postcard appeared above Stan's head and gently fluttered down in the space between he and Agent Powers. A tense silence fell upon the room and Stan nervously reached for it but the other man had been faster. He snatched it and looked it over with a heavy frown. Dipper's heart was beating heavily in his chest. He really hoped Bill had decided to simply write a stupid joke this time rather than something that could allude to what they were doing.

"What the hell is this?" Agent Powers asked.

"A postcard." Stan answered meekly.

"Oh, and I'm sure it's completely ordinary." Agent Powers said sarcastically, "Because why would there be anything abnormal about a postcard spontaneously appearing out of thin air all the way from Japan?"

So Bill was in Japan now.

"Geez, I've never seen someone so mystified by a magic trick before." Stan responded smoothly; so much so Mabel had barely been able to contain her laughter. What an ingenious lie.

"A trick?" Agent Powers repeated, unconvinced.

"There's no such thing as magic, agent." Ford reminded and the statement earned him a glare.

Agent Powers then turned back to Ford, "Listen here, Pines. Stop talking about the murders." He demanded before facing Ford again. He marched to him and stopped when their noses were practically touching. It was intimidating but Ford didn't even flinch. "And don't test me." He added, "You won't like the results."

"Good day, agent." Ford said and stepped aside.

Agent Powers glared at him one more time before stomping his way out of the house. Ford walked to the window and peered outside, waiting until the other disappeared down the road with his car before resuming their earlier conversation.

"Bill almost blew it." Dipper sighed.

"Yeah." Stan breathed, "Where's his postcard?"

They glanced around the floor and belatedly realised Agent Powers had left with it. Whether the action had been deliberate or not was unknown but cause for worry all the same.

"Damn it." Ford snapped and glared at the window.

"Well, it's not like Bill gave something away, right?" Mabel asked.

"We can't know until Bill comes back and tells us what he wrote." Ford growled and brushed his fingers through his hair.

"Do we have anything to worry about if he did?" Stan asked.

"Generally, yes." Ford answered.

"But he can just fix it, right?" Mabel reckoned, "I mean, all he needs to do is use a little magic, alter Agent Powers's memories and everything should be fine."

"Hopefully nothing happens until he returns then." Ford nodded. "Let's continue sorting through the folders."

Dipper and Mabel hopped off the sofa and placed the files back onto the coffee table, removing the ones they had already ruled out. During the next few hours, they crossed out the Manotaurs, the vampires, the centaurs, and the pixies. Thus they were left with ten likely contestants to debate over. They had barely gotten started when Bill suddenly returned, flooding the room with objects he had presumably collected through his travels. A cloud of dust and dirt momentarily filled the air as everything abruptly fell to the ground. They coughed and covered their noses and mouths so as not to breathe in too much of the muck.

"Bill, what the hell—" Dipper choked out.

"What's all this junk?" Stan asked.

"These are all the weapons or magical items capable of killing a human in a similar way to the victims in the murders." Bill explained just as the dust cleared from Ford having opened a window. Some of the objects were rusted and browned knives, swords, staffs, whips, and hourglasses. "There were a lot more in Asia than I thought."

"How did you find all of these?" Mabel asked, picking one up. It was a small cylinder object with strange engravings. It looked like it could be opened on one end but Bill took it from her before she could.

"I followed the most obscure of stories and did a lot of research." Bill explained, "And then I went treasure hunting. I found all of them, by the way."

"All of them?" Dipper repeated.

"Yep." The demon confirmed and, with a snap of the fingers, all of the objects disappeared, "I figured if there was one I couldn't find, it was because the murderer was using it."

"But you found all of them." Ford reiterated, "Which means the murderer isn't using a magical item from this realm."

"Or they're not using a magical item at all." Stan suggested.

"They have to be if Bill doesn't sense them." Ford insisted and he glanced at his lover, "Right?"

Bill seemed troubled. "It's impossible for something from a different world to have fallen in this dimension ever since the rift was shut five years ago." He said, "If an object of that power would have made its way here, I would have found it. I had my freaks scavenge every single area around Gravity Falls for special items."

"Could you have missed it?" Dipper asked.

"Not with Xanthar having been around." Bill stated, "As much as I hate the guy, being a square and all, he's a more perceptive seer than I am. There's no way _he_ would have missed it."

"Then…" Dipper started, utterly lost, "What does that mean?"

"We were wrong." Ford said grimly. "And something strange is happening."


	12. Close Your Eyes

The case of the DC murders grew all the more curious and complicated. Ford mulled over the files he had stolen from the government's database in a vain attempt to find even hints of an answer. He spent hours on end practically locked in his computer lab scrutinising every single detail – even those that seemed hopelessly bland. And yet, a day had passed and he found nothing. They had all tried to get him to take a break but even Bill couldn't successfully pull him away from the case for more than a few minutes. The demon thus abandoned the matter and opted to simply train Mabel. From the brief glimpses Dipper got of their training, his sister was making substantial progress. Where she once struggled to make Bill break the lightest sweat, he was now making a more serious effort in dodging. Dipper was both proud and concerned for Mabel. Her words still echoed in his head.

" _I'm going to kill whatever's killing people too."_

He pushed the thought away. Mabel wasn't capable of killing, not really. No matter how angry and different she seemed to be now, it was all nothing more than a product of the changes brought about from awakening her magic – all of which were temporary. By the end of summer, if her training held up, she would be herself again. Maybe sooner than expected too. Dipper excitedly awaited her return. He missed his goofy sister.

Dipper shook his head and moved to the shop. He wanted to change his frame of mind and, if he remembered correctly, Wendy should be finishing her shift soon. He found her sweeping the floor with disinterest and distraction. She clutched her phone in one hand and moved the broom absently around the same area. Dipper would have joked that at least that one spot would be clean but she was really only spreading the dirt around. Wendy stopped when she saw him standing in the door and gave him a bright smile.

"Hey." She greeted, "What's up?"

"Nothing." Dipper responded and trudged into the shop, dragging his feet.

"Solving any weird murders lately?" Wendy joked and placed her broom aside.

"Nah." Dipper said and shook his head, "We hit a dead end. Grunkle Ford's obsessively looking over the files for something we missed."

"The ones he illegally stole from the government's database?" Wendy asked.

"I can neither deny nor confirm this question." Dipper smirked and she laughed.

"Well, if you're not busy," Wendy said and took off her employee name tag to shove it in her pocket, "Want to hang out?"

"Sure." Dipper shrugged.

"Awesome." Wendy grinned, "Let's get Mabel."

"Oh, she's busy." Dipper informed, "She's practicing her magic with Bill. She's actually getting pretty good."

"I always imagined she would be kick ass." Wendy nodded approvingly. "We'll hang out some other time. You reckon we should invite your boyfriend?"

"M-my what?" Dipper stammered, suddenly very nervous. He desperately hoped she wasn't alluding to what he thought she was.

"Robbie." She specified with a mischievous smile. "Don't try hiding it from me! I know you two kissed!"

"W-wha—no! We—it…I…" Dipper babbled stupidly. He had never felt more embarrassed in all of his life. The feeling was made worse as Wendy cackled loudly, holding her stomach as she bent over in a fit. "H-how do you know…?"

"Did you really think he wouldn't tell me?" Wendy asked once her laughter calmed down.

"I-I didn't think he remembered…" Dipper admitted, "We were both drunk…and…"

"Don't worry," She assured, "He was just as embarrassed as you are."

"I doubt that…" He muttered.

"Hey, I made fun of him too!" Wendy defended, "Way worse than what I did to you!"

Dipper made a sound to convey his doubt and she rolled her eyes in response. Then, silence fell upon them. The brunet was thus made very uncomfortable and began fidgeting. He didn't know if this was the moment he was supposed to tell Wendy he wasn't gay. Maybe he should specify he didn't like Robbie that way as well?

"So?" Wendy asked after a moment.

Dipper jolted and tensed, "So what?"

"So should I invite him?" She reiterated, clearly enjoying herself far too much.

Dipper felt his cheeks heat up as he dropped his gaze to the ground. "I-I mean…I don't care…" he grumbled and kicked his feet around, "It's not like we're gay or anything…"

He looked up hesitantly. Wendy's expression was indescribable and Dipper felt all the more nervous until she exploded into laughter again. Now he just felt more shame.

"Man, you're hilarious, Dipper!" Wendy guffawed.

"W-what?" He asked and he was starting to feel a bit frustrated.

"Drunk people do stupid things all the time; I know you're not gay." Wendy assured, then she paused before adding: "Though, if you were, it wouldn't be a problem, you know…"

"I'm not gay." Dipper insisted.

"Right, well, as I was saying," She continued, "Drunk people do dumb things all the time. Robbie's drunkenly goodnight kissed so many other dudes before. It's really no big deal."

"…Really?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah, he gets super affectionate when he's drunk." Wendy assured. "It meant nothing."

Dipper wasn't sure, but he felt…disappointed? No, that wasn't it. He felt something but he couldn't quite put a name to it.

"So, again," Wendy repeated, "Do we invite him along or nah?"

"It's…it's up to you." Dipper shrugged.

"Then I'll send him a text." Wendy concluded.

She led the way out of the Mystery Shack as she sent a text to Robbie. Dipper followed her into her truck and buckled himself in the passenger's seat, kicking his feet up on the dashboard. Wendy hopped in the driver's seat and received an answer just before she put the key in the ignition. She frowned, evidently discontented with the answer she had been given. Robbie had texted he didn't feel up to it and would pass this time. Dipper masked his worry and the moment Wendy turned her attention away, he sent him a quick message asking if he was okay.

"I'm fine." Came the response with a happy face. Dipper blushed a bit.

"Who're you texting?" Wendy asked, peeking over.

"N-no one!" He stammered too quickly and hugged his phone to his chest, "I-it was just Mabel."

"What did she want?" Wendy probed with an amused smirked. She likely knew he was lying.

"S-she was asking for Bill." He lied nervously, "He wanted to know where I was going."

"Mhmm." Wendy hummed.

She backed the truck out of its parking spot and barrelled out of the area. Dipper waited a beat before glancing down at his phone. He smiled before closing the text and shoving the device back in his pocket.

"Where _are_ we going, by the way?" He asked.

"Anywhere." Wendy shrugged, "I've got the car and my dad doesn't need it any time soon, so we can go out for a drive if you want."

"Sure." Dipper agreed. He didn't really care.

"Let's go to…" Wendy mused and pursed her lips together, "The scenic view point."

Dipper blushed a bit. Couples generally went there to make out – though they did so more frequently at night than during the afternoon. When he was younger, he had always dreamed of going there with her. He imagined their first kiss would have taken place there, seated on top of Stan's red car with the sky painted orange and pink from the sunset.

"Don't worry, kiddo." Wendy teased and shoved him playfully, "I won't try anything." And she winked, "Bro-code; don't mess with your bro's bae."

"Jesus Christ…" Dipper sighed in exasperation and slapped his hand over his face, "You're never going to let me live it down, are you?"

"Nope." Wendy laughed obnoxiously, "And neither is Mabel, I imagine."

Dipper flinched. "I…I haven't exactly…told her…" he admitted slowly. It felt wrong to have kept such a thing from her but, lately, she wasn't herself. Her focus also laid elsewhere. For some reason, he couldn't fathom the person she currently was would be interested in hearing about such things – not to mention they hadn't yet had a conversation where the topic could have been breached.

Wendy seemed particularly shocked by the confession. She uttered a sharp: "What!?" and snapped her head in his direction so violently that the car swerved with her action, nearly driving them off the road. She quickly regained control of the vehicle before disaster could have struck.

"Really?" She asked, "Don't you, like, tell her everything?"

"I mean, you know how she's been lately." Dipper muttered, "She's not really Mabel right now…"

"I don't actually." Wendy said, "I meant to tell you about it before but, Mabel seems pretty normal to me."

"You've only really seen her at the party, when she was drunk." Dipper pointed out, "Plus, the day before the party was when we figured out what was going on with her and how to fix it. She had more reason to be cheery and optimistic than before. Though that's all gone now."

Wendy took a left onto a dirt road. The truck moved through the rough terrain easily and only stopped when they reached the scenic point. There was only one other car, a black impala, though it seemed to be empty. Wendy and Dipper both hopped out of the car and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The smell of nature was refreshing. The two then climbed onto the hood of the truck and Dipper forced himself not to think of the thing he had most fantasised about as a child.

"What's up with Mabel?" Wendy asked, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them in place. "Seems like something she did upset you."

" _I'm going to kill whatever's killing people too."_

"It's not something she did more than she said." Dipper explained, lying down and pillowing his hands beneath his head. He bit his lower lip as he deliberated whether he should tell Wendy, but he didn't want to ruin the image she had of his sister. After all, Mabel would eventually return to her normal self. "I worry about her…" he opted to say, "She's changed."

"But it's temporary, right?" Wendy said more than asked, "That's what you told me."

"Yeah but, in this moment, right now," Dipper said, "She's different. I'm scared she'll do something she'll regret later."

"Like what?" Wendy probed.

 _Kill someone_. Dipper thought.

"I…I don't know." He said instead.

Wendy nodded and looked at the horizon. Before them was a beautiful view of Gravity Falls and the oddly shaped mountains through which an alien saucer had crashed ages ago. The sky was steadily beginning to lose its blue, taking in subtle shades of orange and yellow whereas the clouds held hints of pink. It was slowly beginning to look like Dipper's fantasy, though he pushed the thought away. Now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Listen," Wendy said after a pregnant pause, "Mabel may be different now but, deep down, she's still Mabel. It might not be obvious at the moment, but it's true. The goodness in her is stronger than the anger that's currently fueling her. I don't think you have to worry. In the end, I think Mabel's true self will always win."

"I hope so." Dipper said quietly.

They continued chatting easily about everything and nothing as the sun fell beneath the horizon. The two climbed back into the car only long after the sky had turned black and was sparkling with stars. Neither had seen the time go by. Dipper belatedly realised with a hint of bitterness that he had missed the opportunity to instigate his first kiss with Wendy. He supposed it was for the better. Not only did she have a boyfriend, but she had already established she wasn't remotely interested in him and he should respect that. Besides, he didn't want to ruin their friendship by selfishly trying to satisfy his childhood fantasy. Wendy was the best kind of friend he could ever ask for and that was something he should cherish above all.

Wendy glanced at her phone briefly and scowled upon seeing multiple messages from her father. She had missed the deadline by which Manly Dan had requested his truck be back at his house for his use through the time they had lost just chatting. She opted not to answer in favour of playing the "my phone was dead" card so as to get away with minimal scolding. With that decided, Wendy reached forward to flick on the radio and enjoy some tunes but all they inexplicably got was static. She turned it off. Sometimes the Gravity Falls' radio tower crapped out like that.

They drove through down town, finding it strangely lively. There seemed to be a festival taking place what with all the fairy lights and loud music booming. Wendy seemed excited by the joie de vivre and thus decided they would join the party as soon as they brought the car back. Dipper saw no reason to object. A festival sounded like a lot of fun and maybe Mabel had finally finished training for the day. Heck, maybe Bill would even want to tag along.

Rather than attempt driving through the crowded streets, Wendy veered away from the festival's location and took more residential streets. They were far less bombarded with people and the drive to her neighbourhood was smooth from then on. The excitement brought by the prospect of the festival kept both from noticing just how eerily dark everything had suddenly gotten. No streetlights were working and all the passing houses had their lights shut. Not a soul was wandering through the streets; everything was dead.

Wendy pulled up in her driveway and excitedly jumped out of her car. She twirled the keys in her fingers, whistling as she made her way up the front stairs, Dipper trailing a few steps behind. Her jovial tone was abruptly interrupted upon noticing the front door having been left agape, allowing them a glimpse of the suffocating darkness inside the house. It brought shivers down their spines and, suddenly, Dipper was very nervous. Something felt incredibly wrong and he had the feeling they shouldn't wander inside. From the look Wendy soon gave him, she felt the same way. However, she was much braver and bolder than Dipper.

She cautiously walked towards the door on guard, almost as though she were sure something would jump out at them. Wendy managed to get close enough to reach for the door and press her palm flat against the smooth surface. She held in her breath as she pushed the door further open, stiffening as she heard its languid screech. They paused, waiting for something to emerge from the darkness.

"Hey, Pine Tree—"

Wendy and Dipper shrieked, the latter tripping as he literally hopped away in fright. They glanced behind to find Bill, standing akimbo with an amused expression.

"Bill!" Dipper hissed and worriedly glanced back at the darkness. "What are you doing!?"

"There's a festival in town." Bill said, "Shooting Star and Fez both want to go. They asked me to pop on over because you weren't answering your phone and ask if you wanted to tag along. Sixer won't be coming of course, he's literally buried himself in those files to look for a link."

"Now's _really_ not the time." Dipper said and spotted Wendy slowly heading towards the obscurity from the corner of his eye.

"What? What's up?" Bill asked.

"Shh!" Wendy suddenly snapped, "I think I hear voices—"

She hardly finished her sentence when there was a loud crash followed by what was undoubtedly Manly Dan's scream. He sounded terrified.

"Dad!" Wendy yelled and ran into the house.

"Wendy, wait—" Dipper tried, but he couldn't stop her.

"Come on, Pine Tree!" Bill said and grabbed him by the wrist as he dragged him into the house.

For a moment, the darkness was so thick Dipper couldn't see anything. It was as though his eyes would never adjust when, all of a sudden, he could clearly distinguish some of the furniture and even spot hints of colour in the walls. They made their way across the entire house, stopping once they hit the living room. Dipper nearly bumped into Wendy's back who had stopped, frozen in fear. He glanced over her shoulder to find a cloaked creature in the shape of a man lifting Manly Dan off the ground with a single hand around his neck. The thing's fingers were long and pale, practically glowing in the darkness. It took a moment for Dipper to glance at its other hand to find it clutching a very menacing scythe.

"W-what…?" Bill muttered.

Dipper's eyes snapped to him to find his expression contorted in confusion and, dreadfully, fear. The demon seemed torn between fighting and fleeing. Dipper looked back at the creature and took an apprehensive step back when he saw it move its hand holding the scythe.

"Dad—" Wendy tried.

Manly Dan managed to open his eyes to look at his daughter. "Wendy, run—"

The creature suddenly lifted its scythe and stabbed it straight through Manly Dan's chest. Wendy screamed and was about to charge it but Bill stopped her. He grabbed her and held her back regardless of her thrashing and shrieking. Before their eyes, Manly Dan began to age. His skin wrinkled and tightened against his bones as his muscles and fat suddenly disappeared and his hair turned white. In mere seconds, he looked like just another victim. The creature carelessly let him fall to the ground once the process was done; the body disappearing in the surrounding blackness.

Dipper was so startled by what he had just seen that he hardly noticed the white translucent substance hanging off the scythe's blade. The creature gathered it in its bony hands, carefully manipulating and folding it into something smaller. With its remaining free hand, it pulled out a metal box from its baggy sleeve and stored the substance inside. It seemed to be about to return the box to where it had once been when it seemed to take notice of Bill. Its eyes were the colour of blood and glimmered in the darkness as they found their way to the blond. He flinched and released his hold on Wendy. She fell onto the ground in a fit of tears.

 _ **You…**_ A terrible voice suddenly echoed in all of their heads. Their ears felt like they were bleeding as the creature continued to speak. Dipper had half a mind to start clawing at his ears if it meant the maddening sound of its voice would cease. _**Demon…you disrupted the balance…**_

The scythe's blade glimmered momentarily in the darkness as it swung it forward in an attempt to hit Bill. The latter managed to dodge the blow at the very last second, stumbling back against some furniture in the process. Dipper was beginning to panic but he was frozen in fear. Had he not been, he wasn't sure what he was meant to do.

 _ **You disrupted the balance…**_ the thing reiterated and swung again. Dipper was sure it had sliced through a wall and yet there was no sound to confirm it. _**You must pay…**_

Bill dodged a few more swings, winding up on the opposite side of the room. Dipper wasn't quite sure what had suddenly pulled him out of his moment of paralysis, but all of a sudden he was able to move and speak. They had to leave. "Bill!" He cried as the demon narrowly avoided another potentially lethal swing, "Get us out of here! Teleport!"

The blond might have given a quick nod; it wasn't obvious in the midst of the given altercation. The creature swung again and Bill ducked, running beneath the horizontal slice to pass by his aggressor and towards Dipper and Wendy. He had his hand stretched out in front of him. All he had to do was touch the two and he could teleport them away from the danger. He had been so close when the scythe stabbed through his back and poked out of his chest. Bill froze, mouth falling open in surprise as he looked down at the metal sticking out of his chest in disbelief. There was no blood and, strangely, the demon didn't start aging like Manly Dan had when he had been hit.

The creature slowly pulled out its scythe. Dipper noticed how Bill's clothes seemed entirely in tact – like he hadn't just been stabbed by a sharp piece of metal. The demon fell forward, landing harshly on his knees as he gasped desperately for air. Neither Wendy nor Dipper dared to move lest the murderer decided to execute them. Instead, they watched in terrified awe as he pulled out a fiery blue substance from Bill and messily shoved it in its box.

 _ **No longer will you meddle with the natural order…**_ It said before promptly vanishing.

The abnormal darkness suffocating the house lifted as such. The light from the moon finally started pouring through the opened windows, illuminating the area. Wendy screamed as she beheld the sight of not only her father, but also her three brothers, lying dead on the ground.


	13. Foresee Obstacles

Everything had happened so fast. One moment, Dipper was enjoying Wendy's company and they were laughing as they talked about everything and nothing. A beautiful night in the midst of serial murders was beginning, they had planned to go to the festival. And yet, the next moment, Wendy's family had been murdered and Bill had been wounded to the point where he struggled to stand. By all means, the demon should have never have been there and the thought made Dipper all the more miserable. Had he just answered his phone, Bill wouldn't have wound up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dipper drove them back to the Mystery Shack using Wendy's truck. The latter had fallen into a catatonic state and had to be forced to move around. It pained Dipper to see her in such a shape. He wished there was something he could do. Bill, on the other hand, was weak but still managed to move around on his own fairly well. He stumbled a bit, dragging his limbs. He honestly just looked exhausted and Dipper hoped it was simply that. He didn't quite understand why the demon hadn't died but chose not to question it. Maybe being a demon rendered him invulnerable to the weapon's effects.

He helped Wendy out of the truck and guided her into the Shack all the while keeping an eye on Bill. The demon was mostly fine, only tripping once he had to climb the porch's stairs but Dipper had been close enough to catch him before he fell. He managed to bring them both into the living room, leaving them on the sofa to gather the others. In the next few moments, they were all assembled in one area and Dipper was recounting the horrific events. He balled his hands into fists to keep from shaking too much.

The teen related the events beginning from when they arrived to the Corduroy house. He mentioned Bill's arrival but neglected to say anything concerning the whispers they had heard moments before the scream. That part didn't seem important. Dipper then described the suffocating darkness and the murderer. He described it to the best of his ability but Ford seemed to have no idea if it was a person or a creature. He just seemed perplexed and worried for Bill whom he hovered near. His great uncle clearly wanted to touch him, to check him for wounds or signs of something, anything, being wrong, but hesitated for fear of involuntarily hurting him. Bill had to be the one to take his hand to instigate any physical contact between them.

Dipper continued the story by briefly going over Manly Dan's death and minding Wendy the whole time. She displayed no reaction; like she hadn't even heard him. Given her state, it was likely the case. Then he described the white substance the murderer pulled out with its scythe and how it stuffed it into a box. He concluded the whole with the fight that had taken place between Bill and the murderer. There was a pregnant pause filled with tension as Ford, Stan, and Mabel absorbed the information. There were likely a lot of questions floating through their minds. Dipper still didn't understand why the murderer had attacked Bill and left he and Wendy alone – especially Wendy seeing as it _had_ killed the rest of her family.

"It was a Grim Reaper." Bill finally said, breaking the silence. He squeezed Ford's hand a bit.

"A Grim Reaper?" Stan repeated, "Did we ever consider that?"

"No." Ford answered.

"Grim Reapers are impassive, neutral." The demon explained, "Or, rather, they're supposed to be. All they do is reap the souls that need help crossing over to the afterlife dimensions upon death. They never kill nor involve themselves in the happenings of the world. That's why I didn't mention it before. This one's behaviour makes absolutely no sense."

That explained why Bill seemed both confused and scared when he first beheld the murderer.

"What can you tell us about Grim Reapers?" Ford asked.

"Not much." Bill admitted, "I never took the time to learn anything about them because they were never a threat to me. All I know is that not every dimension has a Grim Reaper and those who do only ever have one. They also aren't supposed to deviate from their only purpose which is to guide souls of the deceased beings of a given universe into the proper afterlife dimension."

"Can we kill it?" Mabel asked a bit too quickly.

"No." Bill answered, "They're immortal."

"Why didn't you die?" Dipper asked.

Bill gave him a sour smile, "It can't kill me because I'm a demon." He said, "I have no soul for it to take."

"But it took _something_ from you." Dipper insisted, "I know it did, I _saw_ it."

"It…it took my magic." Bill answered bitterly.

"What!? Why!?" Mabel snapped, likely upset that she had lost her magic teacher.

"Because I upset the balance." Bill shrugged, "Whatever that means."

Dipper mulled over the Grim Reaper's words. It must have been alluding to something but he couldn't think of what for the life of him. It wasn't like Bill had gone on an insane killing spree. The one responsible for all the murders beginning back in January in DC was the Grim Reaper itself. Was it trying to push the blame onto Bill?

"How are we supposed to stop _death_ from killing?" Stan asked.

"You can't." Bill said.

"So the murders continue?" Mabel demanded, unsatisfied with the answer.

"There isn't anything we can do, Shooting Star." Bill maintained.

"There has to be." Mabel said. "I'm not going to accept that we have to let it keep hurting people."

"As much as I would love to give up early on something like this," Stan started, "I can't. Not this time. I'm with Mabel. Bill just said he didn't know much about Grim Reapers which means that there might still be a chance to stop this thing."

"I can research online." Ford acknowledged, "However, odds are, if there is anything out there that can help us stop the Grim Reaper, it's going to be information undocumented on the internet."

"We still have to try." Mabel declared.

"And we will." Ford assured, "What I'm perplexed about at the moment is why the Grim Reaper is doing this. Why is it killing these specific people?"

"To maintain the balance." Dipper muttered mostly to himself.

What did that mean? It had to mean _something_. The Grim Reaper couldn't have just said that for no particular reason.

"The balance of life and death." Ford concluded and, suddenly, Dipper understood.

It was so obvious.

How hadn't he picked up on it sooner?

"A year ago." Dipper said, "When Tad massacred Gravity Falls…"

The balance Bill had disrupted hadn't been done by murdering people but rather by resurrecting them. And yet, there was still something Dipper didn't quite understand…

"But…but why did mass resurrection disrupt the balance?" Dipper asked. "Shouldn't mass murder be at fault?"

Bill mulled over their conclusion pensively. "Oh," he finally mumbled, "That actually makes sense…"

"How?" Mabel frowned.

"I'm not _from_ this dimension." Bill reminded, "I'm from elsewhere. Tad, however, was from here. The balance was his to disrupt – or not disrupt; his actions didn't count as a disturbance. He was allowed to do what he wanted, this was his home. It isn't mine. I'm an outsider. I'm a demon."

"That's stupid." Mabel concluded.

"Maybe, but that's the way it is." Bill shrugged, "Grim Reapers aren't moral creatures."

"So what now?" Stan asked and his eyes fell upon Wendy.

She was still unresponsive.

Ford considered their options. "Sooner or later, Powers is going to find out and come knocking." He mused, "We need to decide whether we're going to call him or wait for him to come find us. It would be more suspicious for us to say nothing, so I reckon we should reach out."

"Then we need to establish our stories." Stan nodded.

"We play dumb and say we saw nothing." Ford declared and looked at Dipper and Bill, "You two will simply say when you got there, everything had already happened."

"What about Wendy?" Dipper asked.

"Don't worry." Ford said. He walked to Wendy and his hand began glowing with his golden magic. He pressed it against her forehead and her eyes fluttered shut briefly. When they opened, her green orbs watered and she began crying again. She slumped forward and pressed her forehead against Ford's chest. They all let her cry, averting their gazes out of respect. "Wendy…" Ford eventually continued, "We're going to call Agent Powers to tell him about what happened. You don't have to speak with him right away."

She nodded and clutched at his shirt tighter.

"We would also like for you to stay with us." He added, "We've got an extra room ready." She gave another nod and Ford smiled. He gestured Mabel over to guide her to her room. When they left, he declared with a heavy sigh: "Now, we call Agent Powers."

Dipper sighed and watched as his great uncle fetched the phone. The ensuing confrontation wasn't going to be pleasant in the slightest.


	14. Everything Is Actually A Mess

Agent Powers barged into the Shack as fast as everyone had expected. However, this time, he hadn't brought all of his agents as an intimidation tactic and he hadn't broken down the doors or windows. That being said, the man hadn't politely knocked at the door either. He quickly found them huddled in the living room expectantly. Wendy was the only one not to be present, having been shuffled off into the guest room that had once been Bill's room. Dipper wasn't about to let her be dragged into the impending disaster that would be their confrontation with Agent Powers and his organisation. She had gone through more than enough for one night and needed to rest.

"I warned you not to meddle." Agent Powers reproached immediately before turning to his agents, "Search the house."

"Hey! You have no right!" Stan protested, though they ignored him.

"We didn't meddle." Ford stated. "This was all purely coincidental."

"Of course it was." Agent Powers sneered in disbelief, "Am I going to have to wrestle information out the lot of you as well?"

"No." Ford assured, "Though, we unfortunately don't have much to tell you."

"Naturally." He said without an effort to hide his contempt. "Well, what lies will you be telling me now? Who cares if it hinders a serial murder investigation, right?"

Ford rolled his eyes, "My nephew and boyfriend came upon the sight together." He told him, "I'll let them explain what they saw."

Agent Powers didn't seem impressed. He folded his arms over his chest and turned his severe gaze to Dipper. The teen could tell the agent wasn't about to believe a single word that would leave his mouth, but he spoke all the same.

"I went to Wendy's house, we just wanted to drop off the truck." He explained, "Then Bill came and asked us if we wanted to go to the festival. We all walked into the house and found the Corduroys dead."

"Yeah, sure. Okay." Agent Powers muttered dismissively. "Where _is_ Wendy Corduroy? She's the only person I'm interested in speaking to."

"She's resting." Mabel informed defensively.

"Wake her up." Agent Powers demanded, "We'll be taking custody of her."

"No you're not!" She snapped and barred her teeth.

"Shooting Star!" Bill warned.

Dipper was suddenly nervous. His sister was losing control of her temper. The last thing they needed was for her to showcase her magic. They didn't have Bill's unlimited power this time to erase their memories and conceal all that they really knew concerning the supernatural. Not to mention the organisation could easily take Mabel by force and none of them would be able to stop them. Not that Bill was rendered powerless.

"He's not taking Wendy!" She growled.

"Don't worry, sweetie." Stan said, "He's not."

"You have no right." Ford stated.

"Of course we do." Agent Powers retorted, "It's for the sake of an investigation and, who knows, maybe _she's_ the murderer."

"You don't even believe that!" Mabel hissed aggressively.

"Shooting Star!" Bill repeated, "Calm down!"

Dipper placed a hand on her arm. She seemed to calm if only a bit. He had no idea how long they could keep her from using her magic out of spite. Perhaps letting her learn combat magic hadn't been the best of ideas.

"You have no legal right to take her if she doesn't want to go with you." Ford reminded, "Not unless you have a sensible reason which you don't. Wendy will speak with you but it won't be tonight. She's tired and she needs her rest. She's been through a lot."

"The longer I leave her with you," Agent Powers said, "The more time you have to convince her to lie about what she witnessed."

"We didn't witness anything." Bill stated. "We got there and it had already happened."

Agent Powers's gaze shifted towards Bill. The look he gave the demon made Dipper shiver. He took a few steps towards him but couldn't get too close before Ford protectively stepped in between them. They had a short stare off, Ford practically challenging Agent Powers to get any closer to his lover. He didn't, but he still had a bone to pick – one he wasn't about to drop so easily. "That postcard is from Japan." He pointed out.

"So?" Bill snorted.

"So there's no record of any plane ticket bound for Japan and back having been bought." Agent Powers stated, "Not in your 'boyfriend's' account nor his brother's nor anyone else in this house for that matter. That means you either got your hands on it in an illegal manner or you had an alternative _unnatural_ way to get there."

"Yes, I took an eagle from the Lord of the Rings." Bill taunted. "Did you consider that I might have gone to Japan a while ago and what you came upon dated from then?"

"Of course," Agent Powers acknowledged, "And maybe I would have believed it had the manufacturing date not been inscribed on the card."

"What are you getting at?" Ford asked. "Are you going to try to arrest him or something?"

"No." Agent Powers answered, "However, it proves to me that you're lying. All of you are. And your 'boyfriend'—"

"Stop saying it like that." Bill grumbled, "We actually _are_ dating."

"He's not human." Agent Powers concluded.

"If you haven't come here to investigate the new murder," Ford finally said, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Oh?" Agent Powers smirked, and despite his smile, it was clear he was absolutely furious and frustrated with the lot of them, "And what of Wendy Corduroy?"

"She'll speak with you when she's ready." Stan stated.

"No. Now." Agent Powers demanded.

"Agent, she's been _traumatised_." Ford nearly growled, "What information do you hope to get from her when she can't say more than a few words before bursting into tears!?"

"Then tomorrow." Agent Powers quantified, "If she doesn't go to the sheriff's department to give an account of what happened this night, I'm not only going to take her from this place but I'm also going to put her under arrest."

Mabel's fists twitched angrily at the thought. She was about to lash out again but Dipper silently coaxed her into remaining calm. Their confrontation was nearly done, all she needed to do was hold out a little while longer.

"Fine." Ford agreed dryly.

"You know, Pines," Agent Powers said, "I don't understand why you insist on working against us so terribly."

"I'm not—"

"I'm not an idiot." Agent Powers bite back, promptly interrupting him, "I know you're not really cooperating with me. You're keeping vital information to yourself and I don't understand why. We're working to solve the same problem. Together, this thing would be over in no time."

"I'm just a guy with twelve PhDs." Ford stated, "None of which even remotely relate to the work you're trying to do here."

There was a moment of silence before Agent Powers called his agents back. They passed through the living room on their way out and piled into the black SUVs. Agent Powers was the last one to leave the house. Dipper expected the man to leave with a final threat but he simply did nothing more than glare at each of them. They had likely planted chips around the house again. Bill didn't have the power to find all of them anymore but surely Ford did.

"You need to learn how to control your anger." Bill sighed and leaned further into the sofa.

"He was threatening Wendy." Mabel aruged.

"And we had a plan." Bill pointed out, "Did you really think we would let them just leave with her?"

Bill seemed to be on the verge of lecturing Mabel in regards to her powers but Ford stopped him. His hands glowed gold from his magic and he concentrated, presumably looking for the chips Dipper suspected the agents had hid anew. Sure enough, the small devices appeared in a ball floating above Ford's hands. There seemed to be far more than when Bill had unearthed them. With a swift flick of the wrist, Ford destroyed them. Dipper wondered how expensive it was to continuously waste such small yet elaborate devices on them.

"We've got a lot of emotions flowing around, admittedly." Ford sighed, "I reckon we call it a night and all go to bed. We'll deal with everything after tomorrow."

"After tomorrow?" Dipper repeated.

"We all deserve a day's worth of rest."


	15. On the Wind I Heard A Sigh

Dipper had slept much longer than he ever had. He suspected it might have been because he didn't really want to wake up and face their new foe. Fighting a bloodthirsty Warlock was one thing, battling death itself was another. Bill might not have been well-versed in regards to Grim Reapers, but Dipper reckoned it was a safe enough bet to say there was no real way to defeat it. Everyone Bill resurrected would die again. They might as well have left Gravity Falls in shambles. Maybe Bill wouldn't have lost the power he had so recently regained.

The teen glanced at the bed next to his only to find it empty. He had thought Mabel would have lazed around in bed as long as he had, but he had been wrong. It was near noon and she was probably eating lunch in the kitchen with the others. Dipper wasn't ready to leave his bed just yet. He turned his gaze to the ceiling and sighed deeply. He wondered if Wendy had gone to give her statement of what had happened the other night. She must have, he concluded; otherwise Agent Powers would have stormed the Mystery Shack and woken him up earlier.

Dipper groaned and rubbed his hands on his face. Everything was just such a mess. He wished it was all just a bad dream.

His phone buzzed from the bedside table on which it laid. For a moment, he deliberated whether to peer at the text he had so recently received or not. He had no idea who it could be from, though a part of him was fairly certain it would drag him back into the actuality of things. Dipper wasn't quite sure he was ready to accept what had happened the night before and what it would mean for the rest of his summer. In the end, he reached for the small device when he received a second text. Turned out they had been from Robbie.

"Hey." He wrote, "I saw the news. How's Wendy? She's not answering her phone."

Of course the Corduroy deaths would have been televised. He hoped Wendy had avoided their broadcasting. She didn't need to see or hear what any news anchor had to say on the matter.

"Just woke up." Dipper wrote back, "How do you know she's here?"

"If she had to be anywhere it would be at the MS." Robbie replied instantly.

"She wasn't doing too well yesterday." Dipper admitted, "I can't imagine she's any better today."

"Send her my sympathies."

"Will do."

And he shut his phone, placing it back where he had first picked it up.

It took a while for Dipper to convince himself to leave his bed. He pulled on some fresh clothes and wandered downstairs at a leisurely pace. The living room was completely empty and felt different. Everything felt strange and wrong. He found Mabel in the kitchen with Bill. Neither were speaking. The demon was swishing the liquid in his mug around; absently staring at it with a frown. He was likely thinking about his lost powers. Mabel, on the other hand, was poking at her sandwich, eventually pushing it to the side.

"Where is everyone?" Dipper asked.

"Sixer's in the basement." Bill mumbled, "He's researching everything he can on Grim Reapers. Fez is outside."

"And Wendy?" he enquired.

"She left." Mabel answered bitterly, "After she went to the Sheriff's office to give a statement of the incident, she decided to leave."

"Do we know where she's going?" Dipper probed worriedly. Wendy wasn't in any condition to be on her own.

"Her aunt's house." Mabel replied. "Two states over."

Dipper felt comforted by the answer. She wasn't going to be alone and that was all that mattered. He hoped she got there safely. The brunet nodded and went to the fridge. He wasn't particularly hungry but knew it was best he eat something all the same. He made himself a peanut butter sandwich rapidly. It wasn't much, but it was all he could stomach for the moment.

"Hey, Bill…" Mabel finally said. "You can still teach me magic, right?"

Dipper glanced over his shoulder. He was unnerved by the question. There was something in Mabel's tone that just made everything unsettling.

"Sure, but we can't use me as target practice anymore." Bill replied.

"Good." Mabel responded and Dipper had noticed the dark tone painting the simple word.

"Glad to see you're still eager to learn despite this set back." Bill joked distractedly.

With that, Dipper grabbed his sandwich and left the room. He went outside to relax. It was strangely quiet. No birds could be heard singing and only the faintest breeze blew by though it was hardly strong enough to rustle leafs. There was something ominous about the whole situation despite the bright blue sky and warm sun. It all felt empty.

Dipper walked to the rocking chairs and took the vacant one next to Grunkle Stan. The latter was sitting immobile with his gaze lost in the horizon. He looked like he was staring at the row of pine trees up head though Dipper knew he was just lost in his head. He had only belatedly realised the other day that he had told his great uncle one of his friends had been murdered. Dipper felt bad. The previous summer, Stan had lost another friend, Tad, and though he may have been an evil Warlock, the two had once been very close. Stan may have paraded himself as angry and indifferent; Dipper knew the loss had affected him. He never quite looked at Mayor Cutebiker the same way since then. Not that the mayor remembered.

"I'm going to miss that guy." Stan huffed.

"We all are." Dipper agreed and took a hesitant bite out of his sandwich.

"He didn't deserve to go out like that…" Stan muttered mostly to himself.

There was a heavy pause. Dipper could tell Stan was remembering all the good times he had shared with Manly Dan. The two always got into the strangest shenanigans together.

"You know he helped me kick the habit." He continued after a moment.

It took a minute for Dipper to understand what he meant.

 _The alcoholism_.

"You guys were always so gentle with me." Stan laughed bitterly, "You gave me soft encouragements and that was fine, but sometimes I needed to be yelled at or punched in the face. Dan was the only one who had the balls to do it."

"Didn't he suffer from the same problem at some point?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah, I think that's why he was so passionate about helping." Stan mused, "He knew what it was like and he knew what I needed from experience. I wish I could have thanked him properly."

"I'm sure he knew." Dipper said with a gentle smile.

"I'm sure he did too." Stan grinned.

There was another pause. It felt lighter this time. Dipper also felt a bit better. He wasn't sure why talking good of someone who had recently died helped, but it did.

"He's in a better place now." Dipper said; and though it sounded like an affirmation, it was more of a hopeful wish.

Stan guffawed. It surprised the teen who had not been expecting such a reaction. "No, he's not." Stan said and he only seemed a bit morose, "I don't know what happens to us when we die; I honestly don't really care. If a Grim Reaper's job is to guide a soul to its proper after life, then I suppose there might easily be a heaven or hell. Regardless, no matter where Dan ends up, it's not going to please him. That guy was made for this place; for living. He loved being and feeling alive. Eternal rest isn't his thing and will never be."

"Wherever he is, he's probably raising hell." Dipper agreed.

"He probably is." Stan chuckled.

Dipper felt lighter. Dread in regards to dealing with a Grim Reaper still lingered in his mind, but he felt better. He looked at the horizon and contemplated the trees as he wondered if they should even bother trying to stop the deaths. The Grim Reaper said it was fixing the natural order, it was undoing what Bill had done a year ago; perhaps they should just let it even if it meant many people would die and plenty more would suffer their loss.

"I hope Wendy will be alright."


	16. Elle avance la date d'échéance

Another day, another altercation with the worst of supernatural forces. Dipper had barely gotten the chance to drink a cup of coffee before Ford had them all gathered in the living room to discuss what he had found from his researching the previous day. He seemed very animated. Surely he had found more information than he himself had expected. With everyone seated aside from Ford who stood in place before all of them, he quickly began sharing what he had discovered.

"The problem with researching things on the internet," Ford opened, "Is that it's hard to distinguish what stems from actual beliefs, fiction, and complete nonsense. I tried browsing through university level archives but no researcher explores the supernatural much less into Grim Reapers."

"So what did you find?" Stan huffed, leaning against his hand.

"Admittedly, not much." He said, "However, I strongly believe we can work with what little I've found. Let's start with the basics. Our Grim Reaper seeks to repair the balance Bill disrupted from having resurrected those Tad killed a year ago. Unfortunately, there were far too many victims in Gravity Falls to try to keep out of harm's way much less anticipate the precise individual who is next, though we do have a radius with which to work if we do devise a plan to confront it. With that said, when the Grim Reaper reaps souls, or, in Bill's case, magic, it seals it away in a box."

"Did you find out what it is, exactly?" Dipper interrupted in his haste for answers.

"The best way to describe it, according to Middle Eastern myths and legends, is by calling it a Soul Box. There's no actual name for it." Ford explained, "Think of it as a sort of purgatory or waiting room. The Grim Reaper has to travel from dimension to dimension delivering souls to where they belong. Rather than doing multiple trips as soon as souls need reaping, especially in times of war where death is frequent, it stores all the souls it collects to deliver them when the rate of deaths has calmed down."

"If we get our hands on it, can we bring everyone back to life?" Mabel asked.

"Theoretically, we could." Ford supposed, though it was clear from his tone that he hadn't thought much about it, "The problem is that it seems to keep it on its person, or so Dipper's story would have us believe. I don't think it's particularly wise to get too close to a Grim Reaper."

"Yeah, don't go doing anything stupid." Stan chastised.

"I'm not." Mabel huffed and looked away pointedly, offended.

"We never know with that new temper of yours…" Stan mumbled.

Mabel rolled her eyes in response though no one aside from Dipper seemed to notice.

"Anyway," Ford continued, "Based on why it's currently present in Gravity Falls and the fact that we know it stores the souls into the Soul Box, we can conclude that it will only leave when it has collected all those Bill resurrected."

"So did you find any way to stop it?" Mabel asked.

"Things get tricky here because Grim Reapers are immortal," Ford elaborated, "We can't kill it for that reason, and I don't know if there's a way to stop it. It's basically death incarnated and nothing I've read details of a way to even contain it. However, myths and legends are rarely a hundred percent accurate, especially when it comes to the supernatural. Most stories are transmitted from mouth to ear before they're finally written down thus some details will inevitably remain lost forever."

"What are you getting at?" Dipper frowned.

"You, Bill, and Wendy witnessed the Grim Reaper touching, _holding_ Manly Dan." Ford reminded, "This simple fact suggests it has a physical form, and there might be something we can work with in that respect. Said physical form also probably resembles an ordinary human being."

"That would explain how it can hide so well." Dipper nodded. "Looking like a human would help it blend into crowds, especially for its more public kills."

"Great, are we going to play Clue with all of Gravity Falls again?" Stan groaned.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Ford said, "Its disguise must be good if it's been fooling people for months but I reckon there must be subtle mistakes either in its appearance or behaviour. Mistakes that would easily be dismissed if one weren't looking for them. I think all we have to do is pay attention to those around us and be aware of any odd actions."

"So can we kill it?" Mabel asked. "I mean, if it's physical, it means we can, at the very least, punch it, right?"

"No, you can't kill death." Ford said, "Though there might be a way to contain it. I don't know if we can find a way to bring back those it killed or get Bill's magic back, but, at the very least, I reckon there is a chance, however small it may be, to trap it for a few decades, maybe a century."

"How do you figure that?" Bill questioned, perplexed by his lover's train of thought. "You would need to use powerful magic to even hope to accomplish that."

"It was an idea that came to me when I thought back on some of the fictional stories I read a long time ago." Ford admitted, "Some foes were too powerful for the heroes to overcome that they simply sealed them away for eternity. With the right spell and perfect amount of power, I believe it's a very doable thing, though it obviously wouldn't last for eternity."

"And what exactly would stop the Grim Reaper from resuming its task once it goes free again?" Stan tested.

"Hypothetically speaking, a new natural order would establish itself if enough time were to pass." Ford explained, "Some of the younger folk would have founded new families, created new life, whereas some of the older ones would have died from whatever causes. Regardless, all of those people would continue to go about their normal lives, impacting those of people they might never have been supposed to meet given the current natural order the Grim Reaper is trying to maintain. Suppose that we manage to trap it long enough for most of those who died to die from natural causes or something of the like, what exactly would the Grim Reaper be expected to do? Most of those it was meant to reap would have passed, it would simply be a matter of collecting the souls floating about."

"It's still a gamble." Bill argued. "I've never witnessed or partaken in anything like this before, I can't tell you what's going to happen if you manage to actually trap it for half a century or longer. The Grim Reaper could easily do nothing and collect all the souls lingering restlessly or it could destroy the new humans that should never have been in the first place."

"But the point of a Grim Reaper is to maintain the balance of life and death impassively." Ford countered, "It would be disrupting it by attacking those that never should have been."

"You might be right, Sixer," Bill shrugged, "But there's still a chance it all goes south."

"I think it's a risk worth taking." Mabel declared.

"If the risk is low enough, I'm of the same opinion." Dipper added.

"I reckon it's around seventy percent chance of things going Sixer's way," Bill mused, "And a thirty percent chance of things going horribly wrong."

"Decent odds." Stan shrugged. "I'm in too."

"Good." Ford huffed, "Then now we have to find a spell strong enough to imprison or contain the Grim Reaper."

"That's your department." Stan pointed out.

"I know, I know…" Ford mumbled.

"Hey, Grunkle Ford…" Dipper added just before the family scattered again, "Let's say this works and everything's fine, the Grim Reaper doesn't kill the people that were never meant to be, what are the chances it gets pissed off at the two immortals who trapped it in the first place?"

"Hun, I didn't think of that at all." Bill admitted.

"Fairly high, I suspect." Ford considered worriedly.

"So what happens when it decides it wants revenge or something?" Dipper asked, "How are you supposed to deal with it then?"

"Isn't a Grim Reaper supposed to be impassive?" Mabel reminded.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it can't justify its actions." Dipper argued, "I mean, Grunkle Ford's immortal but he's technically not supposed to be. It could just decide that it's reaping his soul because he wasn't meant to live that long anyway."

"It's a threat to consider." Ford acknowledged, "But it's something to worry about later." He looked at Bill and smiled softly, "Whatever comes in the future, we'll find a way to deal with it; be it an angry Grim Reaper or a new apocalypse."

Bill smiled, "I always knew you would keep life exciting, Sixer."


	17. I Can Say It But You Won't Believe Me

Ford had retreated back to his computer lab with Bill to research a spell potentially powerful enough to contain the Grim Reaper. Dipper and the others were left to their own devices. Initially, he had followed Grunkle Stan into the Mystery Shack shop to help manage it. Wendy was no longer around to aid and so Dipper took it upon himself to replace her. Thus he dealt with customers at the cash register and helped others that were searching for particular items when he wasn't busy. The day passed as such and much faster than Dipper had expected at that.

Seconds later, it seemed, they were gathered at the kitchen table eating some random take out Stan had fetched. Afterwards, Dipper was in his pyjamas and climbing into his bed. Mabel was already laying beneath her covers on the neighbouring bed. She had been oddly quiet for the rest of the day, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

"Good night, Dipper." Mabel muttered quietly and reached for the lamp on the bedside table. She turned it off by gently tugging on the string.

"Good night." Dipper replied a beat later.

He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

However, Dipper's eyes suddenly flashed open and he sat up abruptly with a gasp. Chills rolled down his spine and goose bumps peppered his skin. He felt awfully cold and incredibly unsettled and yet, when the teen darted his gaze around, he found nothing menacing around him. The room he shared with Mabel was empty aside from the latter who snored softly on her bed. Everything was seemingly fine, so why did he feel like something was terribly wrong?

Dipper gripped at his chest to still his beating heart. He took in deep breaths and willed himself to relax, though it only helped a little. In the end, he decided he should walk to the bathroom for a glass of water. Perhaps he just needed to clear his mind before going back to sleep. Curiously, when Dipper reached for the blankets covering his legs, his hand passed right through. It was startling and puzzling and he wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him. He _was_ tired after all. But after half a dozen tries to push the bed covers to no avail, Dipper realised it wasn't his imagination.

 _What…?_ He thought, utterly lost. _I…it…w…what?_

He glanced around again but this time he looked back on the mattress. The sight he came upon rendered him speechless. His skin seemed awfully pale and his lips were slightly parted. He couldn't see even the slightest hint that he was breathing rendering the situation all the more nerve wracking. He _looked_ dead, but he couldn't be. It didn't make sense. Was he dreaming? It had to be a dream—

 _ **Roderick Llamanic Pines**_ **…** a terrible voice echoed around him. Dipper panicked; it was the Grim Reaper.

At the base of his bed, where there had once been nothing, something began to stir. A sort of dark, darker yet darker shadow with glowing red eyes seemed to assemble. Initially, it resembled like nothing, but it steadily took shape and Dipper's heart would have stopped had it not already been the case. It looked like Mabel.

 _ **I have come to talk…**_ it announced and wandered closer.

Dipper shuffled back in his fright, "S-stay away!"

 _ **Do not fret, Roderick Llamanic Pines…**_ it assured, _**I have not come to reap your soul yet. You still have a long life ahead of you…**_

"You…you'll understand if I don't believe you, r-right?" Dipper stuttered anxiously and glanced at his limp body beneath him, "I mean…I'm dead."

 _ **Not quite…**_ The Grim Reaper corrected, _**You are comatose…we are in the Vale…**_

"The…the Vale?" Dipper repeated.

 _ **It is a place where lost souls reside while awaiting reaping…**_ The Grim Reaper explained, _**It is an impractical state but an ideal one to speak privately without interruption…**_

"Why do you look like my sister?" He demanded.

The Grim Reaper seemed amused by the question, _ **Is that who you see when you look at me…?**_ It hummed, _**The other boy who witnessed me saw a girl he held very dear in his heart as well…I have no real shape, Roderick Llamanic Pines, whoever gazes upon me sees what their soul finds most comforting…**_

Dipper frowned. He wasn't convinced the Grim Reaper's intentions were good. It moved around in the darkness, tilting what seemed to be its head in an act of curiosity. It seemed to be on the verge of speaking when the door to the room opened. Stan stood in its frame, blocking most of the light from the hall and casting a large shadow that made him seem so small and frail. The Grim Reaper's attention shifted to him and it drifted to his side.

"Grunkle Stan!" Dipper cried out, but the older man hadn't heard him.

 _ **There is no need to scream, Roderick Llamanic Pines…**_ The Grim Reaper stated, _**He cannot hear us and I do not intend to hurt him…All I can do in this state is reap the souls that have lost their vessels…**_

Stan stood for a moment longer. His eyes lingered over the sleeping forms of his great nephew and niece. He said something – or he must have whispered it because Dipper didn't hear even a sound. The old man sighed deeply before closing the door and leaving. The Grim Reaper retreated back to its initial position. Despite its recent confession, Dipper still didn't feel comfortable. The sense of danger still lingered in his heart.

"So you have a physical form…?" Dipper asked.

 _ **I do…a vessel is the only way for me to reap the souls that should no longer be living…**_ The Grim Reaper nodded.

"You talk about restoring balance but how is what you're doing accomplishing that?" Dipper demanded. "Everything was fine, no one remembered a thing! Chaos started when you decided to intervene!"

 _ **Everyone has a set time of death and this one depends on the actions of individuals and their interactions with others…**_ The Grim Reaper explained, _**Tad Strange's actions dictated that thousands of men and women die…The demon had no right to reverse the world's order…it was not his place and it will never be…Chaos began the moment he opted to play God…**_

"But what he did was good!" Dipper argued.

 _ **The world's balance is neither good nor bad…it simply is…**_ The Grim Reaper responded, _**This is not the first time I have had to undo similar actions despite the wills of others…Angels have been attempting to bend the inevitability of death for thousands of years…Just recently, I dealt with an angel who obsessively brought back two brothers…**_

"What if…what if _I_ resurrected all those people?" Dipper asked, "What if I found a spell powerful enough to bring back the dead. Would you leave everyone be then?"

 _ **No human, including those with the Gift, will ever be powerful enough to resurrect the dead the way the demon did…**_ The Grim Reaper replied, _**There is no pre-written future wherein those who died a year ago lived to see this day what with the actions of Tad Strange… Perhaps, if you traveled back in time to truly kill the demon when you had the opportunity, saving those you wish me to spare could have been possible…but such is not the case…You cannot go back; the Time Cops have forbidden any more interventions with Time and, if you decide to rebel, you will die…**_

"There has to be _something_ we can do!" Dipper insisted, "A compromise, or a—"

 _ **You already know that that too is not possible…**_ The Grim Reaper interrupted and it sounded regretful, _**Do not fall down the same foolish path as the rest of your family…if I came to you, it is because you are the only one with any sense…if you and your family insist on finding a way to defeat me, I will be forced to kill you all in the effort to maintain balance…**_

"So what do you want from me?" Dipper frowned.

 _ **I want you to convince your family to abandon this futile task…**_ The Grim Reaper said, _**I do not wish to harm them but I will not hesitate to do so if they force my hand…You can all have a great and long life if you leave me be…I am not one of the evil creatures you once sought to stop…**_

Dipper said nothing. He bit his lip and frowned deeply. Bill had said it himself, Grim Reapers are neutral forces that work to maintain the balance between life and death. It was clear this one didn't operate with a moral compass, otherwise it would understand why its actions were so wrong. For that reason, there was no point in arguing with it. It wouldn't understand and Dipper would just wound up all the more frustrated.

 _ **Death is not evil, Roderick Llamanic Pines**_ **,** The Grim Reaper continued, _**However, humans do not see it that way and that is something I cannot change… thus, in order to avoid more hurt and to restore the balance, I implore you to dissuade your family from endeavouring to stop me…**_

"I…" Dipper hesitated, "I…I don't think I _can_."

 _ **If you wish to keep them by your side for many more years,**_ The Grim Reaper said, _**You must find a way.**_

Dipper suddenly gasped and sat upright. His heart was beating madly and he struggled to breathe for a moment. In less than a second, he had gone from being nothing more than a soul to himself again. He hadn't finished talking to the Grim Reaper; there were many other things he had wanted to ask, but it seemed it had been done speaking to him. Dipper glanced at Mabel's side of the room. He hadn't disturbed his sister. She simply rolled onto her side and groaned.

He looked away and settled his eyes on the shadows in front of his bed. There was no way he would fall back asleep now.


	18. In Spite of All My Fears

Dipper spent the entirety of the night lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. Sleep eluded him and every time he closed his eyes for a moment too long, he saw piercing red orbs glaring back at him. His family seemed so determined to defeat the Grim Reaper. The Corduroy deaths and the theft of Bill's magic had been a personal blow against them and the more Dipper remembered how they had all dealt with those happenings, the more he grew convinced there was nothing he could say that would change their minds. Notwithstanding, Dipper wasn't even sure of his own feelings in regards to the whole affair. Despite having once doubted their course of action, the brunet wasn't sure he could just stand by and watch so many people suffer as the Grim Reaper took the souls of the resurrected victims. Its actions would destroy Gravity Falls.

The night thus passed slowly as Dipper contemplated many things someone his age oughtn't be thinking about so seriously. He considered life and what the Grim Reaper had said about death being natural but perceived negatively. The more he thought about it, the more he concluded it was right. Humans were mortal beings. Death was unavoidable. Whether someone died of natural causes at an old age or prematurely in an accident, Dipper reckoned the reactions of people hardly changed. Everyone suffered through intense grief and some people simply never recovered. Perhaps what made the given situation so different was that a big amount of people were dying in seemingly terrible ways out of the blue. In a year, most of the citizens of Gravity Falls would be dead again.

When the first rays of the sun peaked through the tips of the pine trees, Dipper decided he was done lying on his bed. He carefully slipped out from beneath the covers and crept downstairs. The Mystery Shack was strangely quiet and it had been a long time since Dipper last experienced such a stillness in the given location. He had always been used to unending excitement; especially since Bill began living with his great uncles last summer. There had never been a quiet nor dull moment until now. He wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing. The quaint silence felt oddly heavy and it reminded Dipper of the task the Grim Reaper had burdened him with.

Would he _really_ be able to convince their family to drop the matter? To turn a blind eye and accept the Grim Reaper's task without any further intervention? Did he want to? Was the Grim Reaper's trust in his sensibility misplaced? Was it even sensible to stand by?

Was it human?

Above all, Dipper feared Mabel's reaction. If, by some miracle, Grunkle Stan, Ford, and Bill responded relatively well to the proposition of dropping the whole matter and having a normal summer, Mabel would summon a storm. Maybe even literally. Dealing with Mabel had been a big rollercoaster so far this summer. Her anger was unpredictable and there was no telling what would set her off. Focusing on a specialisation was meant to quell the anger issues but it hardly seemed to be doing any good. Sometimes, the simplest, most harmless things would be enough to have her flailing bursts of magic around menacingly. That being said, Dipper was fairly certain that what he would say would set her off.

The teen plopped on the sofa and stared at the TV's dark screen. _What_ am _I going to tell them…?_ He wondered and frowned.

They had stated it over and over again: the Grim Reaper was neither good nor bad, it was a neutral being tasked with maintaining the balance between life and death. The only thing that made it seem evil was human perception in regards to death. In an alternate universe where death was accepted and presented as it was, something generally beyond human control that was a part of life, nothing more, nothing less, his choice would have definitely been an easier one to make. However, Dipper didn't live in a different universe – he lived in his own, one where guilt would likely plague him forever if he somehow convinced his family to drop the matter at hand.

 _I could tell them nothing…_ Dipper thought.

No one actually needed to know about his conversation with the Grim Reaper. Or so he initially thought. When thinking back on it, the teen realised he had gotten some rather useful information out of the creature that could help them defeat it. He would thus have to tell his family just how he acquired the knowledge if they were meant to use it against it. Not to mention Dipper hadn't missed the thinly veiled threat it had made just before leaving.

 _In order to avoid more hurt…_ Dipper remembered and frowned deeply, _And if I wish to keep them by my side for many more years…_

It left to wonder if the Grim Reaper had plans on killing them provided they persisted with their intentions. Bill had said Grim Reapers were creatures who utterly refused to interact with the main life of the universes in which they resided. Obviously, there was an exception to the rule and yet the exception had been made in an effort to maintain the balance. The Grim Reaper they were dealing with seemed obsessed with the idea, the goal, of restoring the broken balance. Consequently, it wasn't crazy to assume that it would interact further with the world by slaughtering them if it meant to preserve itself and, more importantly, the balance. It seemed to operate with the Machiavellic thought that the end justified the means.

The possibility made Dipper anxious. The Grim Reaper was blatantly powerful but they probably hadn't yet seen the full extent of its power. This foe was more considerable and more powerful than Tad. Its lack of moral sensitivities and humanity made reasoning with it utterly impossible. The Grim Reaper was convinced what it was doing was right and understood that humans would see it at morally wrong. That being said, it was uncaring in that respect because, to it, the only thing that seemed to matter was the natural order of the universe.

Dipper knew how much Manly Dan meant to Stan, to Wendy, and how angry Bill had been when he lost his powers again, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice those he loved most in order to bring back thousands of innocents and console a grieving friend. It was admittedly selfish of him. And it made him feel terrible. However, they weren't dealing with a blood thirsty Warlock anymore. This foe was a force of nature that couldn't be reasoned with. In addition to all that, though Ford may have theorised a way to potentially stop the Grim Reaper, the chances of his plan actually succeeding were incredibly small.

 _Maybe this endeavour was hopeless from the start…_ Dipper mused to himself.

After waiting a few more hours, everyone was up and gathered in the kitchen. They were having breakfast and Dipper felt somewhat bad about bombarding his family with things concerning the Grim Reaper. Not only was it still early in the morning, but Stan didn't look like he had slept too well and Bill and Ford had likely been researching all night, or so the dark bags beneath their eyes would suggest. Mabel also seemed to be in one of her sour moods again.

"F-find anything?" Dipper stuttered, nervously opting to begin with small talk before transitioning to what he had to say.

"Maybe." Bill shrugged tiredly, "Sixer here apparently took a _crapton_ of notes when I was telling him all about the supernatural."

"We've been sorting through them and determining which would potentially be powerful enough to contain a Grim Reaper." Ford supplied and sipped at his coffee.

"So far, nothing." Bill said. He paused then corrected himself, "Well, actually, there's one spell he's adamant on using but I don't think it's good enough."

"It was used to seal _kyuubi_!" Ford argued and Bill rolled his eyes; they had likely had an argument on the matter at some point during the previous night, "Those things are basically _Gods_! Tell me how it's not good enough for a Grim Reaper!"

"I'm not doing this again." Bill groaned and rubbed at his temples in frustration.

"I just don't think your reasons for not considering it lack substance." Ford persisted.

"Look, when you learn how to pronounce complicated Japanese words perfectly," Bill grumbled, evidently annoyed, "We'll talk about it. That spell relies on perfect diction and this isn't a Latin or Germanic language."

Ford looked like he was about to object by probably stating he could easily learn the spell, but he bit his tongue. He took a deep breath and decided to drop the matter, "Anyway," he said tensely, "We also looked into more lore about Grim Reapers in the eventuality we could find a different weakness."

"And?" Dipper asked.

"Not much either." Bill said frankly, "Found a pretty neat myth about a Grim Reaper possessing people. It's probably fake though."

"Why do you say that?" Mabel frowned.

"Because Grim Reapers don't get involved with the creatures they have to reap." Bill reminded, "In this story, the Grim Reapers possessed Shamans to foretell deaths after being summoned. Not only is there no such thing as a summoning spell for Grim Reapers, but you can bet the one we're dealing with would never go out of its way to continuously warn some random desert tribe about impending tragedies. They were probably just dealing with a ghost."

"So it'll just be another day of researching then?" Stan asked, "Need any help?"

"No, we'll be fine." Ford assured.

"Good." Stan replied almost immediately, betraying his lack of motivation to help.

"Can we have a longer break before getting back to work?" Bill practically begged and slouched onto the kitchen table. "I'm tired."

"You're a demon." Mabel reminded.

"A _magicless_ demon." Bill countered and huffed, "Honestly, I might as well be human again at this point."

There was a brief moment of silence. Ford regretfully looked at Bill, but said nothing. He had already stated it wasn't guaranteed they could get his magic back. There was a strong possibility that Bill would never regain his lost power ever again.

"S-speaking of information on the Grim Reaper," Dipper finally spat out, "I have some."

"What? How?" Mabel asked.

"Well…it paid me a visit last night." Dipper answered and the room fell deathly quiet.

"…what?" Mabel practically whispered.

"It…it just wanted to talk. It was fine." Dipper insisted.

And without further ado, he told them everything. He told them about the Vale, the state of comatose he had been put in for a private conversation, and the small tidbits of information that slipped out as they spoke. They now knew for a fact that the Grim Reaper indeed _had_ a physical body and that the reaping it was currently doing necessitated a tangible form. Dipper noticed the gears beginning to turn behind Ford's eyes. The more he talked about it, the more an idea seemed to take fruition. Bill also seemed to be on the same page. He concluded his spiel by mentioning what the Grim Reaper wanted out of their conversation and the warning it gave before leaving.

"It wants us to stop?" Mabel snorted, "Fat chance."

Dipper opened his mouth to share his thoughts but a moment of hesitation had him slowly averting his gaze and biting his lip instead.

"What is it?" Ford asked.

The hesitation remained for a beat longer. "I just…" Dipper tried. He knew they would get mad at him – or some of them would. "Maybe we should…reconsider."

"You're joking, right?" Mabel derided, and it was that exact type of response Dipper wanted to avoid. "Wait, you're serious?"

"It's the natural order…apparently." Dipper offered weakly.

"There ain't nothing natural about what it's doing, kid." Stan said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I mean, sure we _morally_ _disagree_ with what it's doing." Dipper conceded, "But we're humans; we're generally taught to frown upon death. They were meant to die then—"

" _Don't_." Stan interrupted sharply. In that moment, Dipper saw all the anger his great uncle still held in regards to what Tad had done. Even after a year, the betrayal and the hurt still lingered in his heart. It would probably remain with him forever.

"The Grim Reaper threatened us." Dipper argued and he could feel his hands beginning to shake, "Grunkle Ford and Bill have basically said it over and over again; we're probably not going to find a way to stop it. What we're going to end up doing at this rate is piss it off. I-I don't…" his throat tightened with emotion, stopping him from finishing his sentence.

"That's cowardly, Dipper." Mabel called out.

"Now, Mabel—" Ford tried.

"No," Mabel interrupted, "With that logic, we should have let Tad do whatever the hell he wanted last summer. Our lives were at stake then, why is it so different now?"

"Because we didn't have a choice." Dipper said, "Tad initially had no intention of destroying Gravity Falls until he absorbed all that power from Bill. Had we tried to stop him or not, the outcome would have been the same. He would have slaughtered everyone. If we wanted to live, we had to face him. The Grim Reaper is different. It doesn't care about us. At most, it was mad at Bill but the moment it took his magic, it seemed to have just dropped the matter."

"He's right." Ford intervened before Mabel could reply. She glared at him but he gestured her to let him finish, "It's something we have to consider. The Grim Reaper will stop what it's doing once it reverses Bill's mass resurrection. People will keep dying and Gravity Falls will likely be abandoned but we'll be okay."

"Actual _angels_ did what Bill did." Dipper added, "And even then, the Grim Reaper still reversed their actions."

"That thing lacks a moral compass." Stan stated, "It doesn't understand what's right or wrong. It likely just has its premade conceptions of life and death to work with and that's it."

"What's the point in doing what we do if we're just going to stand by and do nothing?" Mabel added, "We're supposed to help people when the supernatural goes crazy. It's our thing, isn't it?"

"I've got to agree with Shooting Star." Bill said, "And it's not just because I'm hoping to get my magic back one way or another."

"Dipper, if this makes you uncomfortable," Ford started, "if you would rather not try to stop the Grim Reaper anymore, that's fine. It's admittedly a dangerous task and no one can fault you for your decision."

"It could kill us." Dipper warned, defeated. He knew there was nothing more he could say that would convince them to reconsider. Conversely, he was starting to feel determined to stop their new foe instead. How could he not when everyone was so passionate and unwavering in the face of danger? But, more importantly, how could he let his family face said danger without him?

"Death's supposed to be natural, right?" Mabel said, "No matter what we do, we're going to die one day. There's no better way to go out then to do so fighting for what's right."


	19. Si tu savais tous ce que j'te jure

Admittedly, the conversation hadn't gone as planned. When Dipper imagined the scenario in his head, he only imagined Mabel being the one with any sort of issue. However, the reality that had taken place had been extremely different from anything he had conjured in his mind. In the end, he hadn't been able to dissuade his family from pursuing in their endeavour to stop the series of deaths like the Grim Reaper had wanted him to. Whether that had been a good or bad thing was still to be determined. Dipper hoped they weren't heading towards their early graves.

They disbanded after breakfast had ended. Ford went back to researching whereas Bill needed a longer break and dragged Mabel elsewhere to practice her magic. They had actually gone quite a while without training and perhaps she would be in a better mood by the end of the day. Dipper thought back on how she had called him a coward. It stung but she hadn't been wrong. Had someone else been in his shoes and was opting to choose their family over the lives of thousands of innocent people, he likely would have called them the same thing. Mabel had just given him a good slap in the face and a much needed reality check.

Dipper had just never been so afraid of a foe before. Tad hadn't even been nearly as frightening as he perceived the Grim Reaper to be. During that battle, Tad had only ever been out for Bill's blood. Though the Grim Reaper was essentially hunting those Bill resurrected, its understated threat suggested that it wasn't above going after them if they became too much of a nuisance. Dipper sighed deeply and sat down on the sofa in the empty living room. He needed a break from their horrible situation; from the lingering fear of the unknown. He glanced at his phone and considered texting Robbie. They could hang out. That was a thing kids their age did. It could help him forget for a bit.

The most the teen ever did was pull out his phone. He stared at it for a moment before shoving it back in his pocket. It didn't feel right to run away from his problems like that. Despite being able to forget for a short while by having a bit of fun, Dipper would inevitably have to face the music again at some point. Instead, he went outside and found a place near where Bill had Mabel practicing her aim. He sat down and listened to them for a moment. The demon was encouraging his sister, praising her skill and coaching her to channel her anger to make more powerful attacks. As proud as he was, Dipper was admittedly a bit jealous. However, he knew he would eventually get to her level one day if he continued meditating.

He pushed any and all envious thoughts aside before pulling his legs into the lotus position. The brunet then took deep breaths before closing his eyes and meditating. No sooner had he started that he suddenly saw the red eyes of the Grim Reaper and he jolted out of his position. Dipper's heart was pounding against his chest and he arched forward, clutching at it through his shirt.

"Well that was abrupt." Mabel remarked.

Dipper jolted again, surprised by his sister's presence. She was sitting next to him though was leaning against the house's wall. He stared at her perplexed when he suddenly noticed how hard it was to perceive the details of her face in spite of being so close. "It's…night…" he said slowly.

Mabel made a face, "Yeah…" she replied.

Dipper could have sworn he had only closed his eyes only for a moment. His body also felt like he had recently sat down, which added to the confusion. "I…I guess I just lost time again." He concluded. It always happened when he started meditating anyhow.

"No kidding." Mabel grinned and she seemed to be in better spirits than she had initially been at the beginning of the day, "Me and Bill finished training a few hours ago when we found you. He thought he would be funny and try to scare you, but you didn't budge a muscle."

"Wow, really?" Dipper asked, impressed with himself.

"Yup." She confirmed, "Then he tried being annoying, anything to get you out of your meditative state, really, but nothing he did work. I think this was the first time I ever saw him defeated. He actually just gave up and left you alone like an hour ago."

"I guess that means I'm getting pretty close to unlocking my magic." Dipper smiled, his heart thrummed excitedly.

Mabel's smile suddenly faded a bit. "But yeah…" she continued, "I…I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"What—" Dipper started but then reckoned it must have been about how she had been sort of harsh with him earlier, "Oh, you don't need to apologize about—"

"I'm not." Mabel interrupted. She looked at him seriously, "I meant what I said and I don't think I was wrong in saying it. You were being a coward."

Though she was still right, the words were like daggers all the same. Dipper's eyes fell to the ground in shame and he chewed his lower lip.

"I get it…" Mabel continued after a moment. Her tone was quiet, almost like she was speaking to herself more than her brother, "I mean, I felt the same way a year ago, when we were fighting Tad…remember?"

Dipper remembered.

 _"This isn't fun." Mabel said and Dipper turned to her. She clutched the bottom of her shirt so tightly in a trembling grasp that her knuckles whitened. She grimaced, biting her lower lip in an attempt to keep the tears filling her eyes from falling down her cheeks. Dipper stood up straight. "I…I don't know if I want to come back here ever again…"_

 _"Mabel…" he muttered softly and walked to her._

 _She flinched at the sound of her name and the fat tears she had been holding back were finally rolling down her face. She sobbed openly, lowering her head partly in shame. Dipper rushed to her and took her in his arms._

 _"Hey, it's okay…" He cooed softly albeit roughly what with the thick lump in his throat. "We're going to be okay…"_

He would likely remember forever.

"I felt so weak back then…" She said with a bitter smile on her face, "As far as I was concerned, we were all as good as dead. But then…" She looked down at her hands, "Then I managed to do _magic_ , to help us survive just a little longer before Bill showed up and saved the day…Coming back to Gravity Falls didn't seem as scary anymore when I knew I could learn to hold my own against people or things like Tad…"

Dipper smiled a bit.

"I think…" Mabel resumed after a long pause, "I think you feel how I felt. I think you're afraid because you don't see a way to defeat this thing. You're scared we'll fail and what failure could mean. But I think – I _know_ we can win and I don't want you to be scared anymore."

"That's not something that just stops." Dipper pointed out.

"I know," Mabel said and balled her hands, "I…I just want you to know I'm going to protect you."

Dipper's mouth fell open in surprise. He wasn't expecting that.

"The reason I decided to specialise in combat magic was so I could protect you." Mabel admitted, "I wanted to kill what was killing people for you too…then I learned it was a Grim Reaper and that it's kind of impossible to kill…"

"Why…?" Dipper asked meekly.

"Because I remembered how I felt when _I_ was that scared a year ago." Mabel said and her eyes met with her brother's, "It sucked and I hated knowing you felt the same way. So…so try not to feel scared anymore. I've got your back. We're going to be okay."

It was as scary as it was comforting to really see and understand just how far Mabel was willing to go for Dipper. He knew that he would go to Hell and back for his sister, but the shared sentiment seemed strange. Perhaps it would feel normal when Mabel wasn't so emotionally unstable anymore. In the end, he supposed her promise was rather tamed in comparison to what Stan had done to get Ford back five years ago. He had nearly ripped their universe apart.

And suddenly, Dipper began chuckling.

"What?" Mabel frowned.

"Nothing," He smiled, "It's just crazy how far twins are willing to go for one another…"

"It runs in the family, I think." She replied.

"It really wouldn't surprise me." Dipper admitted. "Anyways, we should probably go back inside."

"Right, I'm getting kind of hungry." Mabel agreed.

She stood and helped Dipper on his feet. The latter's legs felt a bit stiff, betraying how long he had truly been sitting in place despite what it had originally felt like.

"Hey…Mabel?" Dipper hesitantly started quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."


	20. This Could Be the End of Everything

The next day, Ford continued researching whereas Bill insisted on a longer break. The latter thus left with Mabel to train her further. Odds were they would need her to defend against the Grim Reaper or, at the very least, to assist Ford at some point in the near future. Stan had left to sit outside and enjoy the cool morning. Dipper, on his hand, had nothing to do. The Mystery Shack was closed for the day and would be the next day as well. Dipper had offered to fill the gap left by Bill but Ford assured the task at hand was nothing he couldn't handle on his own. He was also encouraged to go out and do something to relax for a bit. The teen was slightly upset by the proposition because he knew it was made in relation to the doubt he had expressed the day before.

Nevertheless, Dipper reckoned it was still a good idea. Maybe he really did need a change in pace to get him back in the game. He pulled out his phone and found Robbie in his contact list.

"Are you awake?" He texted him.

The reply came a few minutes later, "Your text woke me up."

"Sorry." Dipper sent him.

"It's fine." Robbie wrote, "What's up?"

"Want to hang out?"

"Sure."

Dipper smiled and shoved the small device in his pocket. He took a quick shower and pulled on a fresh pair of clothes before he was out the door. He passed by Grunkle Stan and advised him on where he would be for the next few hours. The older man grunted his response and waved him away. The teen thus caught the bus in the nick of time and quickly found himself at Robbie's house. Contrary to what many people would think, Robbie's parents were actually rather wealthy and lived very comfortably. Their house displayed just that what with its chic modern look.

Dipper walked up the steps and noted the shrubbery immaculately trimmed into perfect spheres. He imagined they would look nicer and more impressive with lush green leaves rather than their dead brownish ones. It was strange that the plants were dead despite the amount of care that was seemingly put into their adornment. Dipper didn't pay it too much mind though. He rang the doorbell and, a few weirdly long beats later, Robbie finally answered.

The teen was admittedly taken aback and momentarily flustered upon initially beholding the man in front of him. Robbie wore nothing more than sweat pants and his bare chest unnerved Dipper who suddenly didn't know where to look. He settled on his face and saw that the taller man's hair was an utter mess – like he had just woken up.

"Sorry," He groaned, his voice raspy, "I sort of fell back asleep for a bit."

"It's fine." Dipper assured, "I can come back later, if I'm bothering—"

"No, it's fine." Robbie said, "Just come in," he moved aside to allow Dipper to walk in, "You're probably the only person I know who gets up so early."

Dipper frowned and looked at his watch, "It's eleven thirty." He stated.

"It's also the summer." Robbie countered as he closed the door.

Dipper kicked his shoes off and placed them on the shoe wrack before following Robbie down the hall. The house was rather clean and looked exactly like something one would find in a real-estate magazine. The walls were painted in various shades of grey that strangely gave the rooms life and accentuated on the pieces of furniture that had undoubtedly been chosen carefully. There wasn't much in terms of homey decorations such as mementos of vacation trips or salvaged childhood crafts aside from the framed family pictures. Said pictures were the only things that weren't particularly chic. Dipper picked one up and examined it. It was clear a professional photographer hadn't snapped the picture. The subjects, Robbie and his mother, were out of focus, the shot was crooked, and the person taking the picture, likely Robbie's father, had accidentally covered a small part of the lens with their finger. Despite all that, the photograph didn't take away from the room's style. In fact, it added a warm feeling.

"Hey, nerd!" Robbie called from the kitchen, "Want anything to eat?"

Dipper smirked and put the picture back where he had found it. "Not yet. I'm not hungry for lunch." He said as he trailed to his friend's location.

Robbie stood in front of the refrigerator; the door was open and he continuously looked over the food piled onto the shelves and in the space in the door. There were a lot of items placed in containers, but Robbie just sighed and proclaimed: "Well, it's not like there's food anyways."

Dipper made a face. "What are you talking about?" he smirked, "Your fridge is full."

"Full of nothing to eat." Robbie reiterated and moved to a cabinet.

"Oh my god," Dipper laughed and leaned against the island, "there are so many things you can use to make something."

"I don't want to _make_ something." Robbie grumbled and gave the cabinet the same treatment he did the refrigerator. "I just want to grab something and eat it in a few seconds."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "You're so lazy."

"I _just_ woke up." Robbie reminded, "I'm not in a mood to be a master chef." He paused and looked at Dipper, "Unless _you_ want to cook me something."

Dipper guffawed instantly. "I'd only make you something if I intended to kill you." He said, "I can't cook to save my life and neither can anyone else in my family. It's a Pines family thing."

"What?" Robbie asked in disbelief, "But doesn't your sister make pastries or something? I swear I remember her orchestrating a bake sale one time."

"She didn't make _anything_ of what she sold." Dipper divulged, "Everything she "made" was store bought."

"I feel cheated."

"Last time someone from my family tried cooking, they made a sentient being." Dipper stated. He wondered what happened with that grey goopy thing Ford had accidentally created.

"How is that even possible?" Robbie asked.

"We're not really sure." Dipper replied honestly.

"Well," Robbie said as he pulled out a box of crackers, "I don't want you creating a new species in my house so this'll have to do."

"Good choice." Dipper joked.

"So what do you want to do?" Robbie asked, wandering to the opposite side of the island as he ate a fist full of crackers.

"I don't know." Dipper answered a bit sheepishly. He was the one who suggested they hang out after all, if anything _he_ ought to be the one deciding what to do and yet he hadn't thought of it. All he sought to do was change the rhythm of things – to think about something unrelated to the Grim Reaper.

"We could play video games." Robbie shrugged, "Correction; I could kick your ass at video games."

Dipper grinned. "Challenge accepted."

Robbie returned the sneer and led the way to his room, "You're going to feel extra humiliated because I'm still half asleep." He continued to gloat.

" _You're_ the one who's going to feel humiliated when I _decimate_ you." Dipper countered.

"You're on, punk." Robbie laughed.

They walked up a set of twirling stairs and down a long hall at the end of which was Robbie's room. Dipper wasn't quite sure what to expect when the other man lead the way in but he ultimately wasn't surprised. The area was generally dark, covered in metal band posters, and littered with laundry both dirty and clean. The room was admittedly a mess in comparison to the rest of the house, but it reflected Robbie's character perfectly. The taller man kicked aside his clothes to make a path to his bed on which he sat and gestured Dipper to do the same. Then he leaned over and began shuffling through a stack of games he kept pilled near his bed.

"So what are you in the mood for?" Robbie asked as Dipper sat down. The bed was more comfortable than he anticipated.

"Not a fan of shoot 'em ups." Dipper said and Robbie immediately discarded several games.

"Puzzle game?" Robbie suggested.

"Not really in the mood to have to think too much." Dipper admitted.

The other man nodded and discarded three additional games when he paused. "Want to just play Super Smash Bros?" he shrugged.

"Sounds fun." Dipper smiled.

"You say that now, but wait until I slaughter you." Robbie laughed.

He placed the games back where he had first picked them up aside from Super Smash Bros. Robbie then got off his bed and dug through piles of clothes to find his WiiU. Plugging it to the TV facing his bed took a few seconds. All that was left was to find two game controllers which took longer. Robbie ended up finding them in the strangest of places; a drawer and his school bag. When Dipper asked, the other couldn't offer an explanation because he was just as puzzled himself. Both shrugged it off and began playing their selected videogame.

Dipper found the activity far more refreshing than he ever could have imagined. All of his friends were generally girls and didn't like things like videogames or roughhousing – well, except Grenda in regards to the latter. The reason for that was that Dipper spent most of his time with Mabel and was the less social twin. The only way he ever really made friends was if his sister introduced him to people. Consequently, most of Mabel's friends also happened to be Dipper's friends as well. Nonetheless, Robbie was rough and crude in a different way than the girls Dipper had once spent time with. He wasn't afraid to kick Dipper or shove him off the bed to get an advantage in the game they were playing. Not only would the people he normally hung around with never do that, but they wouldn't be convinced to play videogames either.

"You're such a cheater!" Dipper laughed as he quickly crawled back on the bed and dodged Robbie's character attack in the nick of time. He had likely avoided a K.O.

"You're just upset because you're losing!" Robbie fired back and stuck his tongue out.

"Fine!" Dipper grinned, "Two can play at that game!" Dipper bumped Robbie with enough force to have him toppling over and dropping his controller. He scowled while the former laughed and took the opportunity to deliver a lethal blow. "Victory!"

"Nicely done." Robbie conceded with a certain reserve. "But this isn't over."

They started a new game almost immediately and, just as they did so, they also began play fighting. Robbie shoved his foot in Dipper's face who then struggled to get a clear view of the screen. He eventually had to sit on the encumbering leg so as to see and, in retaliation, Dipper pushed his hand in front of Robbie's eyes. Playing with one hand was a difficult task but Dipper was managing well enough.

"Oh my god, you're so annoying!" Robbie grimaced.

"You started it!" Dipper defended.

"Then I'm going to end it!" The other declared. He tossed his controller aside and pinned Dipper down, sitting on his stomach with a triumphant smirk.

Dipper struggled and wiggled as much as he could but to no avail. "You know we're going to end up with a tie or something." He said.

Robbie quickly glanced over his shoulder and his smile widened. "Nope!" he countered, "This match was meant to be two minutes long and my character has suffered less damage than yours! I'm going to win by default!"

"You sneaky—" Dipper growled and began squirming again.

Robbie leaned back and laugh but the action caused him to shift his weight around just enough for Dipper to manage to reverse their positions. He flipped Robbie beneath him swiftly and managed to trap his arms to his sides. Thus, with his free hands, the brunet grabbed his controller and quickly dealt enough damage to Robbie's character before the time finished, despite the latter's intense struggling.

"Another win for Pines!" Dipper laughed boisterously. "Didn't you say you were going to kick my ass? Oh, how the tables have turned!"

"You're pretty strong for a short guy." Robbie commented as he continued wriggling.

"Compliment accepted." Dipper grinned.

Robbie growled before sighing and resolving himself to his situation. Dipper chuckled and suddenly, everything fell quiet. With the silence came a feeling of awkwardness. Their positions now seemed far less innocent then either had once perceived them to be. Dipper couldn't help but remember the drunken kiss and he felt the beginnings of a blush tickle at his cheeks. Perhaps it was time to climb down and maybe do something else.

Preferably something that _wasn't_ in Robbie's room.

"I-I'm just gonna…" Dipper trailed off nervously.

He went to move off Robbie when he was flipped beneath him. Dipper lamented how Robbie didn't initially seem to comprehend how their situation had gotten so abruptly awkward. However, the look the other bore indicated that being the winner of anything was the last thing on his mind. They were so close that Dipper could see the dilated pupils of those dark brown eyes and the faint blush painting his cheeks. His heart skipped a beat and he gasped ever so slightly. Then Robbie began to lean in. A part of Dipper was screaming for him to stop this. It was insisting that he wasn't gay, that he didn't like Robbie that way, but his body refused to move and eagerly waited for their lips to press together.

The most they did was brush their lips together when something heavy unexpectedly fell to the ground. Dipper nearly jumped out of skin and Robbie pulled away brusquely. The two glanced at where the sound had come from. Dipper was just about to ask about what had fallen when Robbie climbed off with an intrigued hum. He went to the space behind his bed near which was a bookshelf. The furniture held more trinkets and band memorabilia than it did books. Regardless, Robbie leaned down and picked up a box.

"Hun. This is weird." He commented. "I don't remember owning this."

"Owning what—" Dipper started but he stopped himself before finishing his question.

The box was made of dark metal. There were no details or anything of the like decorating its smooth surfaces. It was the very definition of generic and yet, Dipper recognized it instantly. His heart ached and he remembered the Grim Reaper having confirmed possessing a physical body. Despite all that, he still didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe the guy he had gotten so close to ever since the given summer started was the Grim Reaper.

"Dipper?" Robbie asked curiously, "You okay? You're looking a little pale."

His words snapped Dipper out of his stupor. He quickly scrambled off the bed and mumbled, "I need to leave." as he bolted out the room. Robbie called after him but he went ignored. The whole point of having spent time with him was to forget about the threat of the Grim Reaper. The evident truth was that there was no getting away.

Dipper needed some air. It was suddenly getting very hard to breathe.


	21. The World Is Burning to the Ground

Dipper ran out of the house and down the street. He passed by the bus stop and considered for less than a second to take the public transport back to the Mystery Shack. However, the teen was far too rattled and overcome with emotion. He didn't expect he could muster the will to stay still and sit in place during the thirty minutes it would take the bus to get to destination. Without much of a second thought, he opted to simply run back home instead. It would take him roughly an hour but Dipper didn't care. He needed to think, he needed to breathe, he needed to _run_.

 _It can't be him, can it…?_ Dipper wondered as he ran through the streets of Gravity Falls. The people he passed by gave him strange looks but he ignored them.

The truth was that no matter how hard the brunet tried to brush off the presence of the soul box in Robbie's possession as something exculpating, he couldn't think of anything plausible. There was no reason for the man to have such an item unless it belonged to him – or rather, his Grim Reaper counterpart. And despite how much he tried to find even the smallest inconsistency in the theory, he couldn't manage that either. Robbie had been in Washington DC when the murders had first started. Hadn't someone mentioned he was staying with his uncle to attend university in that particular city? Coincidentally, when Robbie had also left DC to return to Gravity Falls, the murders moved with him.

 _No. It can't be…_ Dipper thought. _It can't be this simple, I don't_ want _it to be this simple!_

His heart suddenly began beating faster because his mind was beginning to realise there truly was no other explanation. And yet, Dipper fought against the truth. He ran faster; faster than he ever had. Perhaps a part of him thought that he could outrun reality and live in the blissful past where he hadn't known Robbie was the Grim Reaper. Life had been better then. Dipper's heart hadn't hurt as much as it currently did. He thought it might be less painful to just rip the organ out of his chest with his bare hands.

What was he meant to do now?

The obvious decision was to tell his family of his finding. Then they could concoct a plan to trap Robbie and seal him away for a hundred years or longer with a spell. The remaining citizens of Gravity Falls would then be saved and maybe, if Bill got his magic back, they could resurrect those that had been reaped. Things could go back to normal and they could continue living as they once had.

Without Robbie.

The thought had Dipper's heart throbbing painfully. He didn't want to live a life without Robbie. Was it a strange thought to have about a friend? A friend he wanted to kiss and hold. A friend he wanted to spend all of his time with and go on dates with. A friend that wasn't _just_ a friend, but something more. Dipper reckoned it was likely the worst time for him to come to terms with his feelings, especially because they would only increase his torment. His eyes stung with tears and they began to fall down his cheeks but the brunet hardly noticed them.

What was he going to do?

He essentially had to choose between his family and Robbie. He loved them both, and Dipper had been ready to let thousands of people die if it meant keeping his family safe. What was he ready to do for Robbie – the boy he liked more than he cared to admit? Would he sacrifice his family's safety, his family's life, if it meant preserving his? Would he throw away the lives of the thousands of innocents Robbie was planning to reap? Would he go against his family?

Dipper looked up in front of him and found the Mystery Shack. Getting there had taken far less time than he had thought it would – but perhaps it only felt that way because he had been so focused on his thoughts. The old building was bathed in the red, orange, and yellow light of the setting sun. The teen hadn't realised it had gotten so late either. His heart ached as he beheld his home. And as if on cue, Mabel wandered to the front porch and called him over with a bright smile and big wave. Dipper fell to his knees and sobbed.

He could never betray his family, but he didn't want to go against Robbie.

Mabel was by his side in a flash. "Hey, Dipper," She cooed softly as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

Dipper pulled his sister into a hug and buried his face in her shoulder. He stained her shirt with his tears but she didn't seem to mind. Mabel held onto him and rubbed soothing circles into his back. She let him cry for as long as he needed before helping him up and guiding him back into the Mystery Shack. Mabel seated him in the living room and it took a while longer for Dipper to calm down enough to start talking. By then the rest of the family, Stan, Ford, and Bill, had arrived and were hovering around at a respectful distance, waiting for the cue to wander closer.

The teen then regretfully told them everything. He began by telling them of the soul box he found in Robbie's possession. Stan sympathetically argued that it didn't mean he really _was_ the Grim Reaper, but the further proof Dipper gave had him snapping his mouth shut and looking away apologetically. Robbie had been in DC when the murders first started. The murders of Gravity Falls only commenced when he returned. He owned the soul box. There was no way he wasn't the Grim Reaper.

"What do we do?" Mabel asked seriously, eyes narrowed on Ford.

Ford looked uncomfortable. He glanced around the room and breathed deeply, "We still have to find a spell." He said, "So we can't act now, though having uncovered the Grim Reaper's identity will be a significant advantage."

"But we _need_ to act now." Mabel frowned and Dipper could see a fire burning in her eyes. He didn't quite understand.

"As much as I would like to, we need a plan." Ford frowned as well.

"Screw making a plan!" Mabel snapped unexpectedly, "That ass hole hurt my brother! He's also murdering people! We can't wait around anymore!"

"Mabel, calm down…" Stan tried softly.

"I'm not going to calm down!" She growled, "This isn't a time to be calm!"

"Mabel—" Dipper tried.

"If none of you are going to do anything, then I'll just deal with this myself!" She declared and rose from the sofa.

"What are you going to do?" Bill questioned, annoyed, "You can't _kill_ death. Even if you could, you're not nearly strong enough to be able to accomplish such a feat."

"I can try!" Mabel fired back.

The demon sighed and stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "You're acting like a brat." He stated, "I know it's your magic, but it's _really_ annoying right now."

"Move." She demanded in a dangerous tone.

"Make me."

"Fine."

Without more than a simple word of a warning, Mabel raised her hand and hit Bill with what looked like a magic shield. The impact sent him flying out of the way and smacking into the wall harshly. Ford immediately rushed to his lover's side whereas Stan went after Mabel. However, Dipper stopped him. It was clear his sister was out of her mind at the moment; he didn't want her to accidentally hurt their great uncle. Stan was the most fragile of them all what with his advanced age. Mabel could seriously mess him up and she would never forgive herself if she did.

"Let me." Dipper said quickly before chasing after his sister.

"Ow…" He heard Bill groan as he left the room, "I didn't actually think she would…"

The brunet ran out the front door and onto the porch. The moon was slowly rising over the tip of the surrounding pine trees and the night sky was void of clouds. Despite the darkness, the moon produced enough light to be able to see very clearly. Dipper saw his sister storming off, down the road.

"Mabel!" Dipper called desperately, "Mabel, stop!"

"No!" She yelled back.

"Mabel!" Dipper shouted again. He walked down the stairs and onto the grass, "Mabel, what are you going to do!?"

"I'm going to kill him!" Mabel answered and it sounded like a promise. "I'm not going to let him hurt you like that ever again!"

"Mabel—" Dipper tried.

He only managed to take one step forward when a terrible screeching echoed in his ears. He winced and covered them in a desperate attempt to muffle the sound. However, the piercing cry seemed to stem from the inside of his head and it rattled his brain. The pain it brought about was so terrible Dipper couldn't help but start yelling as well. He had no idea what was going on when—

 _ **Roderick Llamanic Pines, I gave you a chance and you have failed. I cannot allow for my vessel to be harmed. Farewell...**_

And then Dipper heard a crack like thunder before everything went white and he was swept off his feet by a powerful blast.


	22. Good Comes With the Bad

There was a ringing in Dipper's ear and his head was buzzing. He struggled to keep his eyes open and even more so to push himself from the ground. The most he managed to do was prop himself up on his forearms and lift his head. The Mystery Shack was destroyed. It was just a burning ruin of what it once was. Bits of flaming debris littered the lawn that surrounded the establishment. Tears welled in Dipper's eyes and he forced himself to look away. It wasn't the time to cry – not yet. He had to find his family. He had to make sure they were alive.

To think the Grim Reaper dared to do what he feared the most…

"Grunkle Stan…" Dipper muttered to himself with a painful groan.

Stan was also much older than everyone else. His bones broke with the slightest movement it seemed, and he bruised easily. Age was beginning to weigh him down and Dipper had noticed how quickly he got breathless nowadays. He hoped he was okay despite having been in the house when it blew up.

"God have mercy, please be okay…"

His body surged with pain. Dipper had likely broken a few bones. His head felt light and he would be on the verge of passing out if he didn't do anything. He dug his fingers into the dirt beneath him before balling his hands into fists. He had to find Grunkle Stan and the others. Dipper didn't know if the others had also heard the Grim Reaper's voice but he hoped they had and Ford had acted accordingly in the nick of time. Maybe he had time to conjure a shield. Just as the teenager's mind began wandering to his great uncle Ford, screaming alerted him. He tried looking back but his body was stiff and sore and the slight movement he had managed crippled him with pain.

Who was screaming?

 _It…it kind of sounds like…Bill…_ Dipper thought and his blood froze as he realized what that could mean for Ford.

Dipper tried to get up. He had to see what was panicking the demon. He had to make sure nothing bad had happened to Ford. However, as soon as he tried to push himself up, he fell onto his face. His arms were too weak to push onto his feet and Dipper wasn't even sure his legs could support him. His heart continued racing in his chest. The ringing in his ear persisted, increasing to a deafening degree and he couldn't make out what Bill was saying. It couldn't mean anything good. He hoped the demon was just exaggerating. He hoped that once Dipper found the strength to get to him, he would find that Bill had just freaked out over nothing.

But he knew better so he couldn't hope.

"Damn it…" He hissed to himself and tried pushing himself up again. "Come on, Dipper…get up, get up, get—"

Dipper managed to push himself further from the ground. He almost managed to get to his feet when a dizzy spell hit him and he fell back onto the ground. His body was utterly exhausted and once he recuperated from his unexpected dizziness, he knew he wouldn't be able to get up again. But he couldn't let that weigh him down. Dipper had to find Grunkle Stan, he needed to make sure Ford was okay, he had to reassure Bill that whatever was freaking him wasn't as bad as he thought. He had to—

 _Mabel!_

Dipper looked around as much as he could fare. She had been further away but near him all the same, but now she was nowhere to be seen. She must have left – maybe she believed they all died? Or perhaps she was too consumed by rage to think to stay behind and help.

He had to find Mabel.

He had to _stop_ Mabel.

She was going to kill Robbie. Or, at least, try.

"Gotta find…Mabel…"

Dark spots began clouding his vision and as much as he fought to stay conscious he was losing his battle.

"No, no, no…" Dipper hissed to himself and tried to stand once more, "Gotta…get to the others…come on Dipper…come on—"

But he fell and he could hardly see anything anymore once he hit the ground again. He couldn't help the wave of exhaustion that washed over him. He was too weak to fight it – too weak to stand. His head fell heavily against the grass and the ringing in his ear intensified. God, Dipper felt terrible – like someone had thrown him into a meat grinder or something. His head – now that was the worse of the pain. He felt like his left ear had been torn clean off. For all he knew, it could easily have happened. Everything was just so chaotic…so _wrong_.

"Damn it…" Dipper cursed to himself before losing consciousness.

To think all of this had started a little over a month ago when a string of murders drew the Pines family's attention. Had Dipper known things would have turned out the way they did, he would have looked the other way and beckoned the others to ignore the mystery that had once begged to be solved. He would give anything to go back and fix things before they all went to shit.

 _Mabel…_

Darkness overcame Dipper. It was strangely peaceful. He felt rested and relaxed. Honestly, he never wanted to wake up, but he didn't have the luxury of that decision. Almost as soon as he was starting to feel tranquil, something began stirring the teen, steadily drawing him from his state of subconscious. A voice – someone was calling for him and shaking him. It took a lot of strength for Dipper to open his eyes and he found Bill hovering above him worriedly.

"Pine Tree, thank God!" He gasped with relief.

"Bill…" Dipper croaked, "Are you…okay…?"

"I-I'm fine," He stammered quickly and looked off to his left with a frown, "Your great uncle's an idiot."

"Were…were you screaming…?" Dipper asked and tried to sit up. It was difficult and he wouldn't have managed alone, but the demon was quick to assist him.

"Yes." Bill admitted, "I need your help…"

"What's wrong?" Dipper groaned.

"It's…Sixer…"

Bill helped Dipper onto his feet. He wasn't as gentle as the teen would have liked. He wasn't patient or sensitive to his sore, broken state – pushing him despite the evident pain crippling and slowing him down. Bill slipped Dipper's arm around his neck and gripped his waist to aid him as he walked him through the scattered debris. They rounded the broken M that had once helped spell "Mystery Shack" and found Stan crouched over Ford. Dipper was glad to see he was okay – or well enough to be moving around on his own. However, what little relief he got from the sight of his oldest great uncle disappeared as soon as he saw Ford. The man had been partially impaled at the hip by a broken pipe and his left leg was crushed beneath another huge letter.

"Grunkle Ford—" Dipper exclaimed and winced as he moved too abruptly too quickly.

Ford looked in his direction and forced a shaky smile. He was sweating and pale. He was in tremendous pain no doubt and it would only get worse once the adrenaline washed off. "Dipper…" he managed and beckoned him closer feebly.

"He's here." Stan said gruffly, "Now heal yourself."

"N…not yet…" Ford insisted as Bill helped Dipper kneel by his side.

"Wh…why aren't you healing yourself?" Dipper asked worriedly.

Rather than answer, Ford gestured him to move closer again until he could rest his hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, his great uncle's grip tightened but it didn't hurt. He began to heal Dipper's wounds and the sensation was as strange as the latter expected it to be. He could feel his broken bones move beneath his skin and weave themselves back together. His cuts slowly closed and his bruises disappeared.

"Sixer!" Bill snapped, "What the hell are you doing!? You need to heal yourself; you could die!"

But it was too late. Ford removed his hand and Dipper was all better. "Go get your sister…" he said and started coughing violently. His body spazzed and twitched all the while – every single movement, no matter how small, increased the level of pain torturing him. "Q-quickly, before she…before she kills Robbie…"

"She…she can't…" Dipper muttered slowly but the look Ford gave him suggested otherwise, "He's…the Grim Reaper?"

"He's not…" Ford choked out, "The Grim Reaper is…using him as his vessel…"

"How…?" Dipper asked, astonished.

"We heard its voice too…" Ford huffed difficultly; breathing seemed so laborious, "I'll explain…I'll explain when you return – now go!"

"Go." Stan muttered and gently pushed Dipper to move.

Dipper wasn't sure he ought to leave when his great uncle was in such a critical condition. "I'll be fine." Ford smiled.

Dipper wasn't sure he believed him, but he left all the same. He ran off towards the road. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't just wave down a car and beg some stranger to drive him to Robbie's – he would get them involved and he didn't need to deal with that at the moment. He couldn't wait for the bus either because during that time Robbie could be killed. And yet, there was no way he would get there in time by running the whole parkour either. Dipper darted down the highway road and shouted. If he had magic, he could fly like Mabel probably had. If he had magic, he could make it in time and protect Robbie. But he hadn't been able to unlock his potential yet, despite the amount of meditating he had done.

"Damn it!" Dipper hissed and he felt tears sting at his eyes. He felt so useless and powerless. Someone like him oughtn't be involved in the supernatural unless they unlocked their magic. Otherwise they would just be useless, troublesome, and doomed to fail in whatever endeavor they would tackle. "Damn it!" Dipper cried out. Robbie was going to die because of him. "God damn it!"

Dipper screwed his eyes shut and ran as fast as he could. His legs and lungs were on fire and he hoped by some miracle that he would make it in time. However, there wasn't much place for hope now, was there? The teen opened his eyes, defeated and then stunned to realize he was in Robbie's neighborhood somehow. He slowed to a walk and looked around, puzzled. Had he lost time again or—

But it wasn't the moment to ponder. Robbie's house was just a few feet ahead and suddenly a window was blown out. Glass made it all the way to the other side of the road and Dipper could hear Robbie's shouting. Whatever had happened didn't matter; Robbie was still alive. He needed to make sure Mabel didn't change that. Dipper ran to the house. He found the door busted off its hinges and broken in half. The area that had once been so clean and orderly was disastrous and chaotic – like a tornado had gone through and messed everything up.

"Stop hiding and face me, you stupid Grim Reaper!" Mabel roared from the second floor. Her demand was followed by what Dipper could only assume were bursts of magic mashing against or through walls.

"Mabel, stop it!" Robbie shouted back.

Dipper ran up the stairs.

"You killed my family!" Mabel growled, "What were you expecting me to do!?"

"I-I didn't kill anyone!" Robbie cried.

"Liar!"

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled as he got to the top of the stairs, "Mabel stop it!"

Whatever Mabel was doing suddenly ceased. Dipper stiffened. He didn't know what it meant but he hoped it wasn't bad.

"Mabel…?"

"Dipper…?" Mabel called back tentatively.

"Mabel!" Dipper shouted and ran through the halls.

He jumped over the broken furniture littering the way and found her in front of what could only be Robbie's parents' room. The walls were poked with holes as was the door. Dipper didn't know how but the other teen had somehow managed to pile things in front of the door to block his sister out. He was thankful all the same.

"Dipper…you're… _alive_?" Mabel mumbled, astonished.

"Dipper?" Robbie called from the other room, "Is that you? What the _hell_ is happening!?"

"You can stop, Mabel." Dipper breathed and carefully walked closer. "We're okay. _We're okay_."

Mabel stared at him in disbelief and her eyes slowly started to water, "I…I heard that terrible voice…" she started slowly, moving towards her brother, "it made me want to tear my ears off…and then…the Shack exploded…and you were on the ground…but you weren't moving…"

"I'm okay." Dipper repeated softly.

"No!" Mabel snapped and tears fell out of her eyes, "I-I ran to you! I shook you and called – _screamed_ your name but you didn't budge! You were dead!"

"Mabel, I'm okay." Dipper insisted and he opened his arms but his sister took a step back.

"You were dead!" Mabel yelled, "You were dead and you weren't even _in_ the house! I didn't want to imagine what state the others were in!"

"Mabel—!" Dipper exclaimed and he pulled his sister forcefully into a hug. She thrashed against him, smacked her fists painfully into his shoulders and chest, but he held her. He held her until she calmed down and was sobbing into his neck.

"I thought you were dead…" she mumbled, "I…I wanted to die…and I wanted to kill him…"

"You don't have to, we're okay…" Dipper whispered.

Mabel pulled away and gave her brother an odd look, "But he's the Grim Reaper…"

"No." Dipper shook his head, "He's not. He's just the vessel."

"What? How do you…?"

"Grunkle Ford hasn't explained it to me yet either." Dipper answered honestly, "We need to go."

Mabel nodded and was about to follow Dipper when she stopped, "What…what about Robbie?" she asked.

Dipper glanced at his twin before looking at the door littered with holes and wandering to it carefully. "R…Robbie?" he called gently, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Came the hesitant response. "Dipper, what's going on…?"

The teen didn't know whether he ought to explain the situation to the other or not. Was it better to keep Robbie in the dark? He judged that no, it wasn't. He was already involved, though he had no information to understand his situation. Dipper didn't want to leave him alone either. He probably couldn't protect him against the Grim Reaper or whatever it did to Robbie, but he would at least try.

"Can you open the door?" He asked.

No answer.

"I promise Mabel won't hurt you." He added after a moment.

There was another long pause but, eventually, the things piled in front of the door were shoved over. Robbie reached for the knob but it wouldn't budge due to its other side being melted. The dark haired teen eventually opted to kick the door down, though he seemed to regret his decision almost as soon as his eyes fell upon Mabel. He was scared and Dipper couldn't blame him.

"What's going on?" He asked, eyes trained on Mabel – waiting for the smallest hint that she would attack again.

"You've got to come with us." Dipper said.

"Dipper, no offense, but no." Robbie replied and Mabel frowned, "She literally tried to kill me. Excuse me if I don't want to tag along. A-and why was she calling me a Grim Reaper?"

"You know how my family and I get involved in… _weird_ things?" Dipper sighed and Robbie nodded, "Well, this summer we found ourselves 'hunting' a Grim Reaper."

"And she thinks I'm _it_ for some reason?" Robbie concluded, though he still seemed confused.

"You're its vessel." Dipper stated bluntly, "I don't know the details yet, but my great uncle Ford seemed convinced and I trust him."

"I'm…what?" Robbie muttered, lost.

"Do you trust me?" Dipper asked seriously.

Robbie considered the question for a long while and Dipper gave him all the time he needed patiently. "Y…yes." He finally answered.

"Then come with us." Dipper stated and offered his hand, "You'll get all the answers you need. I promise no one will try to hurt you anymore."

Robbie glanced at his hand, unsure. But then, he took it.


	23. The Ending Is Coming

Mabel flew them through the sky in a bubble she had conjured. It was considerably bigger than the first one she had made weeks ago and yet she seemed to be easily keeping it intact. Dipper was relieved as they were quite high in the night sky. Were they to fall, they would surely die. Robbie was on all fours and despite his apprehension of Mabel, he marvelled at the sight of Gravity Falls below them. It was clear he found it absolutely gorgeous and Dipper could only agree. He always thought cities and towns looked their most lively at night.

They got to the Mystery Shack a few short moments later. As they neared the location, they could spot the glows of red and blue lights in the area. Knowing they wouldn't be alone, Mabel lowered them amongst the pine trees and onto the forest ground gently where they wouldn't be seen.

"That was…kind of incredible." Robbie admitted sheepishly as he stood and brushed the dirt from his pants, "Is someone going to explain to me how she can do that?"

"Yes, but later." Dipper answered.

He led the walk towards the ruins of the Mystery Shack. Soon they could see the Gravity Falls emergency services weren't the only people present. Agent Powers and his crew were littering the place. Dozens of agents were scattered around the area with strange little machines. They seemed to be scanning for something likely of supernatural origin. Dipper didn't know how their machines worked but he was fairly certain they would find nothing.

"What the hell happened…?" Robbie muttered quietly.

"The Grim Reaper." Mabel hissed and glared at nothing.

Robbie glanced at her and back at the destruction ahead, "No wonder you were so pissed off when you came after me…" he commented, mostly to himself.

"How are Stan, Ford, and Bill?" Mabel asked.

Dipper wasn't sure what to say. At the moment, he simply had no idea. He hoped Ford was in a better condition than when he had left. "Let's go see for ourselves." He declared and walked out of the bushes first.

The three hadn't taken more than a few steps before the federal agents were rushing to them with weapons drawn. They were ordered to halt and to raise their hands but the most they did was stop walking.

"This is a restricted area, go home!" One of them barked.

"This _is_ our home." Mabel retorted.

"Are you Mabel and Dipper Pines?" Another demanded, taking a step forward.

"Yes." Dipper answered.

"Who's he?" The same person asked, gesturing Robbie with the barrel of their gun. "We were only advised of two youths."

"A friend." Dipper said.

"He's not allowed to be here." They declared and turned to Robbie, "Go home, citizen."

"He's staying." Dipper stated and stepped in front of Robbie protectively. "Now where's our family?"

The agents hesitated for a moment. They were clearly uncomfortable with the idea of letting Robbie stay on the premises but they ultimately conceded. Dipper was honestly surprised it hadn't taken more arguing to get his way. Anyhow, they were led towards the ruins. Mabel moved closer to Dipper, eventually slipping her hand into his and squeezing it as she beheld the desolated sight of their home. All of their belongings, their memories, had been destroyed. It was painful to see, but at least they were all okay.

Vehicles were piled into the parking lot and a bit on the grass. The agents brought them to one of the three ambulances at which Ford was getting his arm bandaged. Stan and Bill were further away, arguing with Agent Powers. Judging from the look on Bill's face, the demon seemed ready to knock him out in what could have been a fit of annoyance as much as a fit of anger.

"They're okay…" Mabel sighed in relief and Dipper squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Wait here." One of the agents demanded. They were just a few short feet away from Ford.

"Why can't we wait with our uncle?" Dipper asked.

No answer was provided. They decided not to push their luck with the agents and simply obey. The one that had stalked off headed towards agent Powers and advised him that they had arrived. The man in question glanced in their direction. When he turned back to Stan and Bill, Bill began to walk off. He shouted at him but Dipper was too far away to make out the words. He concluded he must have told the demon to stay put but he just flipped him off as he sauntered to Ford. Stan, on the other hand, walked to them.

"How's Ford?" Dipper asked.

"Not as good as he could have been." Stan admitted, but he seemed relieved.

"What about his more… _worrisome_ wounds?" Dipper asked, choosing his words carefully what with the surrounding agents.

"Look at the grass." Stan simply replied.

They did as such. It was browned – dead. Ford must have taken its life essence to fuel his magic and heal himself. It mustn't have been enough though, considering he was being bandaged by a paramedic.

"He's going to be okay." Stan added, likely having guessed where Dipper's mind had been wandering.

"What about you?" Mabel asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Stan sighed, "A bit bruised, but nothing serious thanks to my stupid brother."

As much as Dipper wanted to know what exactly Ford had done, answers had to wait. Agent Powers marched over to them, positively fuming with anger.

"Careful with what you say," Stan whispered quickly, "We kind of pissed him off earlier…"

Agent Powers stood in place, arms crossed over his chest tightly. His piercing gaze carefully examined Mabel, then Dipper, and then paused on Robbie. "Who the hell is this?"

"A friend." Dipper answered again.

"Really?" Agent Powers asked skeptically. "He's not some strange creature in disguise like that infuriating blond?"

Dipper glanced at Bill. He was hovering behind the paramedic far too close for her liking. The woman kept shooting him glares and telling him to back off, but he didn't listen. Ford, on the other hand, seemed to find his worry endearing.

"Look, Bill's admittedly weird," Stan conceded, "But he's not supernatural. It's not like he can do magic."

The brunet held in a snort. His great uncle _was_ right. Bill had lost his magic.

"I don't think so." Agent Powers stated bluntly and then turned to his agents, "Seize him."

They moved swiftly and gripped either of Robbie's arms.

"Hey!" Mabel protested.

"What are you doing!?" Dipper demanded.

"We're escorting him from the premises." Agent Powers replied. "He has no right to be here. I have no idea why my people let him wander this far into the restricted zone. Get him out of here."

"Stop!" Dipper snapped and the agents actually paused.

"Why?" Agent Powers frowned. He looked at Robbie quizzically, "Does he have something to do with what happened here?"

"N-no…" Dipper answered slowly. He wasn't sure what the right answer was.

Agent Powers stared at him for a moment. Eventually, he gestured his agents to release Robbie. "What _happened_ here?" He asked stiffly.

"Geez, Powers, we already told you." Stan groaned in exasperation, "Ford tried cook—"

"Shut up." Agent Powers barked.

"We…" Dipper hesitated, "We weren't there. We don't know."

"I don't believe you." Agent Powers stated and took a step closer, he leaned so as to be at Dipper's eye level, "You're not remotely fazed by the sight of your 'home' being destroyed. This is either because you're a sociopath and don't care or because you already knew what you would find here."

Dipper bit his lip. He didn't know what to say but, luckily, Mabel did. "We got a text." She clarified.

"We searched your uncles and that blond when we arrived." Agent Powers informed, "No phones were recovered from any of them."

"Bill's pretty good at hiding stuff." Mabel challenged and folded her arms against her chest defiantly.

Agent Powers glared at her and, for a moment, it seemed like he was going to explode and start yelling at them. His face went red from fury but he kept his anger contained. Instead, he brushed off his agents, gesturing them to simply leave. They gave each other puzzled looks but obeyed the order. Agent Powers then pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration.

"I don't know what it is with you Pines." He growled, "I'm just trying to help – to do what's right, and yet you're all finding inexplicable fun in halting any progress."

"We don't need your help." Stan guaranteed.

"I would argue that you do." Agent Powers countered, "Look around you. Your house has been destroyed and there's no way in Hell I'm going to believe, even for the slightest second, that your brother's terrible cooking skills are responsible for this disaster!"

"To be fair," Mabel chimed in, "It's totally plausible if you've seen Grunkle Ford at it."

"Just go home, agent." Stan advised and took a step forward.

"I can't do that, Pines." Agent Powers said and shook his head, "You can keep playing dumb but I know that you know the supernatural is real. This organisation was created to deal with any and all threats in that department. Whether you choose to admit it or not, something supernatural is systematically slaughtering people in Gravity Falls and has destroyed your home, and I plan to stop it. We've had our differences in the past but, for the love of God, let's let bygones be bygones and work together for once."

Dipper was surprised with how hard that little speech hit him. He felt a bit bad for having treated Agent Powers essentially as a joke. The man was seriously dedicatied to stopping the Grim Reaper despite not knowing what it truly was. Perhaps they ought to let him join the fight. He could only be beneficial, couldn't he?

"Agent." Ford cut in swiftly. They all turned to face him, no one having noticed him approach with Bill by his side. "If you would kindly leave for a moment, I would like to have a private word with my family."

"Concerning what?" Agent Powers enquired.

"My health and what we will do now that our home has been destroyed." Ford responded.

"And why does that necessitate privacy?" Agent Powers interrogated.

"Just do it…" Dipper muttered quietly, "I'll put in a good word for you and plead your case."

Agent Powers hesitated for a moment, but he gave the teen a stern nod before stalking off. Dipper noticed how the man suddenly held himself differently. He seemed defeated, especially after his little speech. It might have been his last ditch effort to turn the tides of his investigation with their help.

"How are you feeling?" Stan asked.

"I could be better." Ford acknowledged and his hand instinctively wandered to where he had been impaled. The area was stained with dried blood. "I would use my magic to heal further but I can't at the moment."

"Magic?" Robbie gawked.

"Ah, you're okay." Ford sighed and turned his gaze to the dark haired man in question, "I was worried Dipper wouldn't make it in time."

Robbie grimaced and his gaze dropped to the ground. "I didn't think anyone was going to come for me, to be honest." He murmured and Mabel looked away shamefully. "Is someone going to explain to me what's going on?"

"How much do you know about the supernatural?" Bill probed.

"Dipper told me you were chasing a Grim Reaper and thought it was me." Robbie replied, "But now you're thinking I'm its vessel?"

"Precisely." Ford confirmed.

"Why?" Robbie asked.

"Before it attacked, the Grim Reaper said it had to protect its vessel." Ford explained, "The choice of words suggested that it was possessing someone – _you_. We know it must be you because Dipper found the Soul Box in your room. To confirm this however, you'll have to answer a few questions."

"Like what?" Robbie requested.

"Have you been experiencing a sort of disillusionment with reality lately?" Ford questioned, "Maybe this feeling presented itself through the difficulty of telling the difference between what was a dream or figment of your imagination and reality? Have you also experience any lapses in time?"

Robbie's mouth fell open and he took a moment to respond. "Yes…" he whispered, "All of it…"

"Typical signs of possession." Bill sighed.

"But why did it choose me?" Robbie asked, "I mean, I wasn't even _involved_ with the supernatural. I only had _some_ encounters in the past, but nothing like any of you."

"You're the son of funeral directors, correct?" Ford probed and Robbie confirmed it with a nod, "Then that's probably why. Your parents are practicing the cult of death – or the modern, western version of it, anyway – and, if you were planning to follow into their footsteps, it would only be logical for death incarnate to choose you. In contrast to your parents, you're young and in your prime – far more ideal. However, if the Grim Reaper wouldn't have been able to save you, I'm sure it would have settled for one of your parents with little complaint."

"So then…" Robbie began but hesitated to continue. He bit his lower lip as though considering if he really wanted to ask the question that weighed on his mind. "Did…that makes me the murderer, right? I technically killed all those people…"

"Robbie…" Dipper started, but his voice trailed off. He wanted to comfort him, but what was he meant to say? In a sense he was right. His hands had ended the lives of all those people in DC and in Gravity Falls.

"A man shoots another man with a gun." Bill said sternly, "Who's at fault: the first man or the gun?" Robbie's eyes widened in realisation, "Exactly. You were just the gun. You had no control. So stop it. You humans are addicted to feeling guilty."

Robbie frowned at Bill's choice of words. "He's a demon." Dipper supplied in a quick whisper.

"Wait, what!?" Robbie gawked.

"What do we do now, Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asked and glanced around, "The Shack's destroyed and Agent Powers's goons are lurking. I don't think any of them will be leaving or giving us peace any time soon."

"We're going to have to think of something to weasel our way out of this situation." Ford conceded.

"Oh! The Soul Box!" Mabel suddenly exclaimed excitedly and glanced at Robbie, "We can open and it and give Bill his magic back! The souls of all the deceased will also return to their rightful bodies—"

Everyone turned to look at Robbie who just seemed uncomfortable. "When you're talking about the Soul Box," He began slowly, "Do you mean a generic metal box that doesn't look like much?"

"Yes." Dipper confirmed.

"It's gone." Robbie admitted bluntly, "When Dipper ran out after I found it, I blacked out and it was gone. It had been in my hands too. I guess the Grim Reaper must have taken over and hidden it."

"Damn…" Dipper grumbled. He should have taken the box with him when he left. He didn't know why he didn't do it. He had just been too conflicted with emotions to think rationally.

"So I'm still out of the game." Bill pouted.

"Maybe we can find it?" Robbie suggested.

"Unlikely." Ford countered, "The safest place the Grim Reaper could be keeping the Soul Box is on itself."

"There's got to be a way we can get our hands on it." Mabel said.

"One problem at a time." Ford reminded, "First we have to get rid of Agent Powers—"

"Why don't we let him help?" Dipper asked.

Everyone turned to look at him with incredulous looks – even Robbie. "Really, kid?" Stan asked, "You didn't actually buy into all that crap he was spouting earlier, did you?"

"I did, actually." Dipper defied, "He seemed honest and he probably was. I don't see what evil governmental advantage or whatever he could gain from this."

"You're underestimating your government, Pine Tree." Bill smirked.

"I trust him." The teen insisted.

"Then, I guess we're lucky you're not the one calling the shots." The demon commented.

"Enough, Bill." Ford ushered softly, "We can't let Agent Powers help whether he's truly being honest or not. The moment we admit to having an intimate tie with the supernatural, we say goodbye to normalcy forever. They will watch us relentlessly and might go to extreme lengths to get whatever information we have. If you want to eventually put all of this behind you one day, and you will, we can't let him help."

"Can we at least reassure him?" Dipper asked. "Let him know that we'll handle it?"

"I don't think he'll settle for that." Bill said.

"Well, he did let us face Tad a year ago without too much arguing." Stan pointed out.

"I don't think we'll have much of a choice." Ford nodded, "We need him to leave and convincing him we'll fix everything might be the only way."

"How _are_ we going to fix everything?" Mabel asked.

"The Japanese spell I mentioned." Ford stated and Bill scowled in disagreement, "We'll seal the Grim Reaper away for a lifetime and release it when a new balance between life and death has naturally re-established itself."

"A _lifetime_?" Dipper repeated. There was something strange about Ford's choice of words.

"Yes…with Robbie's permission." Ford finished cautiously, aware of how the others might react to what he was proposing. He turned to the young man in question, "We've been presented with a rare card to play; the Grim Reaper's vessel. It's naturally drawn to Robbie for that reason and we can exploit that by sealing it away. With the Mystery Shack destroyed, it's not like we have much else we can use as a prison. Even if we did, a human isn't as easily shattered as a vase."

"That sounds dangerous…" Stan noted.

"Will…will I still be myself?" Robbie asked.

"The spell I plan on using, has been used to seal creatures into humans before." Ford explained, "You'll still be yourself and there will be no possible way for the Grim Reaper to take control until you die. Once that happens, the prison in which it will have been trapped will dissolve and it will roam free again."

" _If_ the spell is strong enough to begin with." Bill reminded.

"It's our only chance. We have to try." Ford insisted. "But not without Robbie's consent."

Thus they all turned to the young man. He shifted uncomfortably and remained silent for a moment. His gaze dropped to the ground and he gave a hard stare as he considered his options. Dipper wasn't sure he would agree when he suddenly said:

"Okay, I'll do it."


	24. I Think I Taught You Well

The first step was getting rid of Agent Powers and his goons as well as the Gravity Falls emergency response teams. Ford took the initiative while the others waited near the ruins of the Mystery Shack. Dipper was too far to hear anything but it was easy to tell what was going on. His great uncle had decided to approach Agent Powers as an equal – a stark difference from most of their previous interactions. The man still got angry and yet he seemed so defeated – so tired. He yelled at Ford but only for a short amount of time before giving up. When they parted, he gestured for his agents to get back into their cars with any and all equipment they had unloaded. There was confused chattering but they all obeyed. Agent Powers then moved to the woman seemingly in charge of the dispatched Gravity Falls emergency response team. A short conversation had her gesturing her people to pack their things and leave as well. Ford only returned when they were all gone.

"What did you tell him?" Dipper asked.

"I told him to trust us." Ford answered, "I made him admit he had no idea what he was up against and that it was beyond his expertise. He seemed to understand that I was insinuating we would take care of it."

"Let's hope that's the case." Stan nodded, "So what's the plan?"

"We have a lot of things we need to take into consideration." Ford said, "We need to prepare Robbie for the spell, we then need to trick the Grim Reaper into possessing him, and finally we need to find a way to get the Soul Box off his person. And we have to manage doing all of this while it's probably watching us from the Vale right now."

"Tricky." Stan conceded.

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Ford and Bill began spit balling how they could concoct a plan without the Grim Reaper catching on to what they were doing. Dipper listened for a moment when he thought back on his encounter with the terrifying creature in the Vale. It had given him so much information – information he had overlooked and dismissed too easily. Perhaps something had happened then that could help them now? He thought back on everything, on what it said; but nothing. Dipper was just about to accept the futility of his actions when he remembered how Stan had come into the room while he was in the Vale. Realisation hit him.

"Cover your mouths!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Why…?" Mabel inquired.

Dipper covered his mouth with his hand, "Just do it." He said, "You can't hear sound from this realm in the Vale."

"That's dumb, how did it know what I was going to do to Robbie in that case?" Mabel countered.

"Your mouth wasn't covered." Dipper reminded, "It read your lips."

Everyone thus covered their mouths. "I suppose it'll be onto our conniving soon enough, though." Bill reckoned, "Better make it fast."

"This might be the way to trick it into possessing Robbie, actually." Ford said, "If we talk long enough without it knowing what we're saying, it'll get annoyed and possess him so as to hear since it won't be able to read."

"We still better hurry." Bill insisted.

"Right, well," Ford nodded, "I have a semblance of a plan in the works. I won't need everyone to take an active role."

"That's fine, just get on with it, Sixer." Stan ushered.

"The Grim Reaper has the Soul Box on its person which means on its actual form manifested in the Vale." Ford reiterated, "Or so we're assuming. While we're sealing it away, it'll be vulnerable and I might be able to grab it with phasing magic. However, I won't be able to do that _and_ the spell."

"I can do it." Dipper offered.

"It's in Japanese." Bill reminded.

"Not only that, but it requires someone to wield magic simultaneously." Ford added.

"Damn." Dipper hissed.

"Can't we both do it?" Mabel asked. "I could do the magic wielding whereas Dipper could chant the spell."

"Can you read kanji and pronounce the words perfectly?" Bill asked doubtfully.

"I used to be a big otaku." Dipper admitted without shame, "I picked up the pronunciation of words pretty well from all the anime I watched. I can't read kanji but I can manage if someone writes it down in romaji."

"Fortunately for you," Bill sighed, "It's a pretty short spell. However, you'll have to repeat the same lines perfectly and constantly until the Grim Reaper is sealed. If you screw up once, we'll be back at zero."

"What about me?" Mabel asked, "What do I have to do?"

"You essentially have to wield magic to build a cage." Ford replied, "It's fairly simple. All you have to do is visualise what you want to create. However, it'll require a lot of magic – magic you'll have to sap from both Bill and Stan."

"Couldn't that kill them?" Mabel worried.

"If it were just one of them, yes." Ford replied, "You would also die. However, between the three of you, you should have enough life essence to build the cage."

"Okay, so what now?" Stan asked awkwardly, "Do we keep talking with our hands in front of our mouths until the Grim Reaper gets annoyed and possesses My Chemical Romance over there?"

Robbie frowned.

"You know My Chemical Romance?" Mabel asked in awe.

"Sweetie, everyone does." Stan replied.

"I'm going to have to write down the spell for Pine Tree." Bill said, lowering his hand, he then looked at Ford, "You also need to do your thing."

Ford nodded, "Robbie, Dipper, Mabel," he said and lowered his hand as well, "Come here."

The three shared puzzled looks before wandering to the man. He then placed a hand on both Mabel and Robbie's shoulders.

"The spell necessitates the caster and container to bear binding marks in the event that said container is a human." Ford explained briefly, "Dipper, I don't have three hands so you're going to be marked last, but if talking with our mouths concealed wasn't going to get the Grim Reaper to possess Robbie, then this is." He paused before concluding with: "This might sting a little."

His grip tightened and suddenly, yellow magic engulfed both of his hands. It spread onto both Robbie and Mabel; marking their skin with thick lines and Japanese letters. Both let out a pained hiss, flinching reflexively. Nevertheless, it was soon over. Robbie stumbled back roughly and it worried Dipper. The spell must have hit him harder than expected.

"Robbie, are you—"

He was about to go after the boy when Ford grabbed him to keep him away and to mark him as well. "Don't!" He warned. Dipper would have asked why, but the answer came before he had the chance.

 _ **I do not like these games you are playing…**_ Came the terrible voice. Robbie looked up and his eyes were piercing red, _**I do not like meddling with humans but you have forced my hand…I must protect the balance…I will banish you all to the Void where no creature nor God can retrieve your troublesome souls…**_

It summoned its scythe and gripped it tightly. The moment Robbie's hands touched the object, his skin paled to something deathly white. It glared at them and readied to charge. Dipper anxiously glanced around for Bill. Where had the demon gone? He couldn't wonder for too long however, because the Grim Reaper was charging them. Ford was quick to summon a shield, but the scythe cut through it easily and they all had to roll out of the way.

"Bill! What the hell are you doing!?" Stan snapped.

The demon reappeared shortly with a piece of wood in hand. He seemed rather surprised to find the Grim Reaper and then apprehensive. The last thing he wanted was to be attacked when he was so powerless. Nonetheless, he shook his head and wandered to Pine Tree, handing him the plank.

"I couldn't find paper so I used this and some cinder." He explained.

The Grim Reaper snapped its head in their direction and both jolted. It was about to start running towards them when Mabel flung a burst of magic into its back. It stumbled for a few steps but wasn't affected more than that. However, her goal had been to redirect its attention, not incapacitate it. It glared and charged her instead.

"Can you read it?" Bill asked hurriedly.

"U-uh, yeah." Dipper stammered nervously.

"Then start chanting." Bill ordered, "The second you do, it'll stop running around—"

 _ **What is this I hear…?**_ The Grim Reaper hissed and turned back to them, _**Have you devised a way to stop me…? I cannot have that…**_

"Do it, Pine Tree!" Bill snapped.

" _W-watashi wa anata o tsuiho shimasu._ " Dipper stuttered, and the Grim Reaper suddenly halted, " _Watashi wa issho anata o tsuiho shimasu_."

 _ **W-what…?**_ The Grim Reaper muttered in confusion. _**No…!**_

"Mabel!" Ford yelled, "You need to start conjuring the prison!"

"How?" She asked.

Suddenly, the Grim Reaper started moving again and it dashed towards Dipper and Bill once more. It closed the gap between them in just a few seconds. Then it raised its scythe and brought it down. Bill managed to push Dipper out of the way in time but he hadn't been enough to evade the swing as well. The blade sliced through the blonde's right shoulder and got stuck in the chest area. Time slowed and everyone held their breaths.

"Damn…" Bill hissed and abruptly coughed out blood, "So that hurt a lot…but I guess I'm still immortal even without my magic…"

He grinned viciously and the Grim Reaper was about to pull its scythe out when Bill gripped it, keeping it in place. "Pine Tree, start chanting!" he barked. "Shooting Star, start visualising! What you basically need to do is meditate!"

 _ **No!**_ The Grim Reaper roared and began tugging on its scythe but Bill held on.

"Way to make such a stupid mistake, dumb ass!" Bill taunted.

Dipper immediately repeated the spell. The Grim Reaper stiffened and froze. Rather than stop after the completion of the second line, the teen continued and glanced over at his sister. She had taken a seat on the ground and closed her eyes. The markings on her skin were glowing with her magic and soon the ones of Robbie's body were as well. It encouraged Dipper to keep going. This could actually work.

"You're doing it, kid." Stan encouraged. He then wavered on his legs and was forced to sit down. His sudden weakness was likely due to Mabel. Bill also pulled himself from the now bloodied scythe and sat down. Despite that, the Grim Reaper was still immobile.

 _ **No…**_ It growled feebly as it thrashed urgently. The most it did was move its arms around just a bit now that Bill was no longer holding on, but its feet were anchored. _**Stop…the balance…I must…**_

"Now would be a good time to get that Soul Box, Sixer." Bill called and weakly moved away from the immobilised Grim Reaper.

Ford nodded and stepped forward. He cautiously walked towards the Grim Reaper and breathed deeply. His magic pooled into his hands and they seemed to suddenly become translucent.

 _ **This action…will have dire…consequences…**_ The Grim Reaper warned, likely in a final and desperate attempt to get them to stop.

Ford paid it no mind. He reached forward and plunged his hand into its chest. Soon all of his arm was lodged inside and he was far too close to the Grim Reaper's face for comfort. Regardless, it was only for a few short seconds. He slowly began pulling out his arm and Dipper caught sight of the Soul Box just as he was pulling out his hand. They were doing it. Against all odds, they were beating Death.

"I'll live with it." Ford finally replied to it.

Curiously, the Grim Reaper gave an ominous laugh. Dipper didn't allow it to distract him. _**You…will not…**_ It choked out and unexpectedly plunged its free hand into Ford's chest the same way the latter had done it to it just seconds ago. Ford's eyes widened and he choked on a gasp.

"Sixer!" Bill yelled.

 _ **This is…the pri—**_ but the Grim Reaper never finished. Suddenly, a force violently separated it and Ford. They flew back a few steps and smacked onto the ground roughly. When Robbie sat up, his eyes were no longer red and the markings for the spell on his skin were disappearing.

They had done it.

They had won.


	25. I Can't Breathe Anymore

They had beaten death. Against all odds, they had fought a Grim Reaper and won. The deaths that had been plaguing the world since January would finally end and they could also reverse them because they now had the Soul Box. They could bring back Robbie's uncle and Wendy's family. Bill could get his magic back and erase the memories of everyone again. Nothing bad would happen this time and, on the off chance something still did, they would deal with it. There was a certain amount of pride and confidence to be found in the knowledge that one had contributed to ending two different apocalypses but more so in the fact that they had helped outwit death.

"Robbie—" Dipper shouted and rushed to the young man's side.

The former groaned and held his head heavily, "Did…did it work…?" he muttered. Rather than answer, Dipper grabbed his face and pressed their lips together in a fit of joy. Robbie stiffened but melted into the contact quickly. He pulled away reluctantly. "I'll…I'll take that as a yes…"

"Are you…are you okay?" Dipper asked. He was so relieved and so happy.

"Yeah." Robbie smiled, "Are you?"

"Yes." Dipper breathed and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Who knew you two were an item?" Mabel smirked as she pranced over. She then looked at her brother, "You never mentioned him to me."

Dipper suddenly felt guilty. He always told his sister everything, she had just been a little different during the given summer. "I-I…sorry…" he muttered, "But we're not dating."

"We're…not?" Robbie asked.

"Oh, this suddenly got awkward." Mabel snorted.

Dipper flinched and blushed, "N-no…?" he asked unsure and incredibly flustered, "I mean…I'm not against it or anything…"

"Well, maybe we can just talk about it later." Robbie said and smiled.

"Yeah, okay…" Dipper sighed.

"Sixer…" Bill called and weakly. He picked himself from the ground and moved to him. "Hey…"

Ford laid on his side with the Soul Box tightly clasped in his hand. However, he was unmoving.

"Ford…?" Stan called from further away, worry filling his voice.

"Did he get knocked out…?" Mabel asked nervously as she glanced over, "I mean, he fell back pretty hard…"

"Sixer!" Bill repeated more urgently and began shaking him. "Hey, wake up!"

"Damn it, Ford!" Stan yelled and despite having been weaken by the spell, he ran to his brother's side. "Come on buddy, open your eyes! This isn't the time to mess around!"

Soon, they were all crowded around Ford. It was hard to tell if the man was in a bad condition or not with Bill shaking and hovering over him anxiously. Stan eventually had to hold him back for Dipper to be able to look for a pulse. The brunet pressed two fingers into his great uncle's neck and waited. Nothing. He felt nothing no matter how much pressure he applied. The horror he felt must have been evident on his face because everyone became deathly silent.

"No…" Bill finally muttered, "He…he can't…"

"Oh my God…" Mabel gasped and tears filled her eyes.

"No, he's not—" Stan tried to shrug off nonchalantly. His tone was heart breaking. He swatted Dipper's hand away to measure the pulse himself, but he found the same thing his nephew had: nothing. His shoulders began sagging from the weight of the realisation and his expression fell as well. "He…he can't…"

"No, no, no—" Bill repeated frantically, "That's not…this isn't how this is supposed to go!"

"The Soul Box!" Dipper remembered, "Open it!"

"Right, Bill can get his powers back—" Mabel nodded and grabbed the metal box. "—and fix everything!"

She pried the lid open and white orbs suddenly began ascending towards the night sky. It was beautiful but none of them could care at the moment. A blue gas-like substance left the box last and floated towards Bill. The demon absorbed his magic and his eyes glowed for a brief second and the wound in his shoulder suddenly healed.

"It's all going to be okay…" Mabel muttered beneath her breath, "We're all going to be okay…"

Bill moved his hand over Ford's eyes and took a deep breath. He seemed to focus for a moment and they all waited. But nothing happened. The demon frowned and tensed, as if focusing as hard as he possibly could but nothing was happening. No one understood why and Dipper suddenly remembered how the Grim Reaper had threatened to banish their souls into the Void. Now the teen didn't actually know much about the Void in question, however, from what the Grim Reaper had said, it was likely beyond Bill's power to retrieve souls. And what that meant was crushing.

"Why isn't it working!?" Bill hissed, "Come on, Sixer, wake up!"

"Bill, stop…" Dipper advised with a shaky voice.

"No!" Bill growled and he gripped at Ford's shirt with his other hand, "I-I got this—" but nothing happened. "Damn it, I can do it—"

"Bill…" Stan said softly, shoulders slumped and head hanging.

"I-I _have_ to—" the demon continued, sounding more frantic.

The sight of him so desperate had Dipper's heart clenching painfully. Mabel held in a sob and covered her mouth though tears began streaming down her cheeks. He couldn't look at her for too long because he would start crying as well.

"Bill…" Stan repeated and placed a hand on his shoulder to get him to stop. The blond gasped and stiffened. "He's…he's gone…we're not getting him back this time…"

"No…" Bill muttered, but his tone was weak and sorrowful. "He…he can't…"

Then Stan did something rather unexpected. He pulled the other into a tight embrace and began sobbing. At that point, there was no way for Dipper to contain his own sadness and he cried as well. His hand wandered to Mabel's while the other intertwined itself with Robbie's. It wasn't meant to end like this – it wasn't meant to end with one of them dead. Especially Ford; the guy that had been spirited away for thirty years and beaten by so many things. He had only really gotten the chance to be truly happy for a full year before his life came to an abrupt and unexpected end. They never even got the chance to say goodbye. None of them had the chance to tell him how much they loved him one final time.

And no one had thought they would ever have to. Ford was meant to outlive them with Bill. Dipper always expected his great uncle would, one day, take care of his kids and grandkids and so on.

"No!" Bill started shouting and thrashing, "I can't! He's not—I won't let him!"

The demon pulled away from Stan's embrace and they could see he was crying as well now. He collapsed onto Ford's corpse and grabbed his shirt tightly as he buried his face into his chest. He begged and screamed for him to wake up – no one had ever seen Bill so weak. It was heart breaking because no one – except for Stan, maybe – could understand just how devastated he felt. They all wanted him to stop, but none of them could bring themselves to voice it. Stan just regarded the blond with empathy and eventually looked away when then pitiful sight became too much for him.

"I'm not giving up!" He cried, "We were meant to spend eternity together!"

And with that final cry, Bill suddenly disappeared with Ford. Everything was deathly silent aside from the sobs of the remaining Pines family.


	26. Before We Dwell On It

Bill disappeared for the rest of the summer. No one knew where he had gone nor if he was still in their universe. Despite all that, the demon had still used his power for their benefit. They had left the sight of the ruined Mystery Shack and stayed at the cheapest motel in town for the night subsequent to Ford's death. The next day, when they returned, the Shack was whole and the same way it had been before the Grim Reaper had destroyed it. Not only that, but any and all news of the past murders had disappeared and anyone who had died was now living again. Agent Powers and his secret government organisation wasn't even in town anymore. The only ones who seemed to remember anything about what had turned Gravity Falls upside down at the beginning of the summer were Dipper, Mabel, Stan, and Robbie. Knowing that speaking about what had been erased from the minds of others would break Bill's magic, they decided to keep everything to themselves.

The remainder of the summer passed by very quickly and insanely slowly all at once. Everything was just numb. Though none of them wanted to go outside anymore or do anything, they couldn't stay inside the Shack either. It reminded them all too much of Ford and how he was no longer with them. A strange silence had also besieged the house and it emphasised the void left behind by not only Ford but Bill as well. They never really talked about what had happened that night either. The most they ever acknowledged about Ford's passing was the empty grave they had dug in his memory in the backyard. Dipper sometimes caught Stan wandering out at night, when he thought everyone was asleep, to sit by the only memory he had of his late brother.

However, with all the bad came a glimmer of good no matter how small. Mabel's mood swings induced by her magic were now gone. She had continued her training on her own and with a little bit of Dipper's help. Even if there was no actual way in knowing whether she had truly gotten good or not, Dipper was certain his sister's skill had increased tremendously. A part of him wished Bill hadn't left so he could confirm her progress and also teach her how to develop her skill further. Now that he was gone, they would have to figure all of that out on their own.

"You kids better hurry up." Stan said from the entrance of their room, "Otherwise you'll miss your bus."

The twins were packing their belongings into their suitcases. They had been going about it very slowly. Summer was over and university was set to begin in three day, but neither really wanted to leave. They worried about Stan. Soos had offered to swing by the Shack more frequently and help out but there would still be very long hours where their Great Uncle would be alone. Dipper considered taking the first semester off to be with him, but he suspected Stan wouldn't let him. The sentiment would undoubtedly be appreciated, but rejected.

"We're…we're almost done…" Mabel said softly and forced a smile. Dipper noticed how tense her voice was.

"I'll...be waiting downstairs." Stan nodded and left.

Her lower lip quivered as he turned his back and marched down the hall. She breathed deeply and went back to putting away the last of their neatly folded clothes. Dipper wandered behind her and patted her back gently.

"We'll…we'll be okay." Mabel said tensely and bit back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Yeah…" Dipper nodded, but he didn't believe himself.

They finished packing their stuff away and unhurriedly lugged their suitcases downstairs. Stan was standing on the front porch with his arms folded against his chest as he stared emptily into the distance. He had gotten rather quiet. They all had. None of them wanted to stew in silence and yet none of them wanted to speak without reason because none of them wanted to hear any bit of unnecessary noise. It was a contradicting feeling that made little sense, but everything felt that way now.

"Ready to go?" Stan asked as he saw them approaching.

Dipper and Mabel exchanged heavy looks, "I…I guess…" Dipper muttered.

A heavy silence washed over them. "Do…do either of you…" Stan hesitated, "Want anything to drink before leaving…? Maybe coffee or tea?"

Dipper felt a lump build at his throat. "That would be nice." He responded thickly.

"Yeah." Mabel nodded.

"Throw your suitcases in the back of the car," Stan indicated and unlocked the doors with the switch on his keychain, "and come back inside. I'll get things ready."

They did as they were told but paused after putting their belongings away. Leaving was so difficult and yet staying seemed to be just as painful. There was no neutral in between.

"Should we even leave?" Mabel finally asked. "It feels…wrong."

"I don't think Grunkle Stan would want us to stay." Dipper admitted, "Not to mention that mom and dad wouldn't understand if we did. Remember, they don't know about Grunkle Ford."

"We're eighteen now, we're adults…" Mabel argued feebly.

"Let's just go back and have a cup of tea." Dipper offered with a heavy smile. "One step at a time."

She nodded and they walked back into the Shack. Stan had taken out three cups of tea and was boiling water on the stove. He had also taken out all the boxes of tea they had which had once belonged to Bill. The twins remembered having heard a story over Christmas break about how Stan and Ford had decided to show the demon different types of foods he hadn't bothered having before. He had liked a lot of things they threw his way but he went nuts over tea. Stan had lamented about how they barely had space for anything else in their cupboards because Bill wouldn't stop getting different types of tea.

"We've got a lot to choose from." Stan commented and pointed at a section, "Those ones are from India," and then at another, "Those ones are from China and Japan," and then at a different one, "African teas," he continued and gestured a new section, "British blends," and then he got to the final section, "and the miscellaneous category."

"How much did all of this cost?" Dipper asked in awe.

"Less than you would think." Stan snorted, "Bill stole most of it."

"Once a demon, always a demon." Mabel chuckled softly.

"Which ones are good?" Dipper asked.

"According to Bill, all of them." Stan replied with a smile, but it soon fell. "I miss that ass hole…"

"He'll come back…" Mabel mumbled.

Stan nodded briefly and nothing more was said on the matter. They eventually chose their teas and placed the leaves into their tea balls. Silence remained with them for the better part of their tea time until Stan took the initiative to ask them about university. They chatted idly. The twins told their great uncle what their schedules looked like, what classes they were most excited to attend, and which they were afraid would be too difficult. He listened to them attentively and encouraged them to do their best. When their conversation ended, they put the tea boxes away and finally piled into the car.

The windows were rolled down and the warm breeze that filled the vehicle was relaxing if a bit nostalgic. Dipper couldn't help but remember their last car ride to the bus stop a year ago. Ford had been at the front and Bill was stuck in the back with them. The demon had spent the better part of the ride being annoying but it had been fun. They had all been laughing. Now all there was to hear was the wind and the cars passing in the opposite direction. It forced Dipper to look at the facts: Gravity Falls would never be the same.

They pulled up at the bus station and they all secretly hoped that the bus the twins were meant to take had already left. However, there were ten minutes remaining and people were still climbing aboard. Mabel and Dipper left the vehicle heavily and slowly removed their bags from the trunk. They circled the car and stopped next to Stan. They all wanted to say something but nothing came to mind. Stan sighed deeply and pulled them both into a hug.

"I'll be okay." He whispered to them.

"You can call us whenever." Mabel said and her voice trembled with the tears she desperately held back. Dipper was no better, he opted not to speak because he knew he would just start crying. "We're just a short magic bubble ride away."

"I will." Stan assured, "You two just focus on your studies."

"We will." Mabel said for the both of them.

They pulled away reluctantly and headed towards the bus. When they got to the line, only four people were getting their tickets checked and putting their luggage away. Dipper and Mabel handed their bags to the driver just when two people unexpectedly caught their attention.

"There you are—" Wendy said as she walked out of the station followed by Robbie, "We were waiting inside."

"Oh, sorry." Dipper apologized, "We got here sort of late."

"Five minutes before departure." The driver advised as he checked their tickets.

"Didn't get to see you much this summer." Wendy noted. She didn't know that Ford had passed away. She didn't seem to remember he ever existed either.

"We were kind of…busy." Mabel supplied vaguely, "We'll make up for it next summer."

"Sounds good." Wendy grinned, "Hey, maybe you guys can even come visit me at my university or I can swing by yours."

"That would be nice." Dipper smiled.

"Anyways, we ought to get going." Mabel said and gestured the bus behind them. "We'll text."

"Definitely." Wendy nodded, "See ya."

"Bye." Mabel waved and looked at Robbie, "Later, Robbie."

He gave her a small wave as she climbed onto the bus. "Uh…Wendy?" he said, "Could you give me and Dipper a minute alone?"

Wendy nodded and wandered to Stan who was still standing by his car. They began chatting and Dipper sighed softly before turning his attention back to the older man. There was a small moment of silence that weighed between them. Dipper felt guilty that he had basically ignored Robbie ever since Ford had died and they had locked a Grim Reaper inside of him. They had never gotten the chance to talk about them, their feelings, and their relationship status.

"How are you feeling?" Dipper finally asked.

"You mean the Reaper?" Robbie returned and pressed a hand against his own stomach, "It's fine…I don't feel different…sometimes I feel restless."

"I wish I could tell you if that was normal or had anything to do with the spell." Dipper admitted, "But I'm not the expert."

"It's fine, I'll cope…" Robbie assured, "But…I just…" he paused and Dipper knew where he was going, "I just…we never got to talk about us…"

"I know, I'm sorry." Dipper said and lowered his head.

"Was there…ever a chance?" He asked hopefully.

"There still is." Dipper replied with a small smile, "I still…I still feel the same way…"

"Me too…" Robbie admitted.

They stared at each other for a moment before closing the gap between them with a kiss. It was soft and sweet, but also sad.

"Are you okay, Dipper?" Robbie asked seriously as he pulled away.

"No…" Dipper answered honestly, "But that's normal…I'll be okay again eventually."

"Call me if you need anything." Robbie said. "Even if you need nothing."

"I will." Dipper promised. "See you later."

"Bye." Robbie bid.

He climbed onto the bus and paused to wave at Wendy when she yelled: "Bye, Dipper!"

Only half of the bus was filled to capacity. Mabel had taken the seats in the far back as it allowed them more leg room and spots to occupy. He sat next to her with a heavy sigh and glanced out the window. He saw Robbie walk to Wendy and Stan. He waved at the three of them and they waved back. Mabel leaned over and waved as well.

"We'll be okay." She whispered.

"Eventually." Dipper acknowledged.

The bus driver turned on the engine and pulled out of its parking spot. Dipper's heart clenched as the vehicle began moving and heading down the road. He looked at Wendy, Robbie, and Stan for as long as he could before they disappeared down a corner and lost sight of them. He watched the people of Gravity Falls walk down the sidewalk at their leisure and enjoy life like they hadn't been dropping dead like flies less than a month ago. Dipper wondered how different they would all be if they remembered everything Bill had made them forget. His mind then lingered on the demon. He didn't know where he was but he hoped he was okay.

The bus soon left the small town lost amidst the Oregon forests and embarked on the high way. There were only trees to be seen and Dipper looked away. But as he did so, he caught a glimpse of a blond man standing by the road. Their eyes met for less than a second and when Dipper looked back to see if it truly had been Bill, he was gone.


	27. What Is and Should Never Be EXCERPT

**This chapter is an excerpt of the threequel to complete the Of Armageddons and Broken Hearts trilogy. The title in the workings is "What Is and Should Never Be" but this might not be the official title when I get around to publishing it. For those interested, keep an eye out for stories titled "In My Time of Dying", "No Rest for the Wicked", "Swan Song", and "Devil May Care" as they could potentially be the official title.**

* * *

The teacher was speaking animatedly in front of the whole class. She was passing across the front, gesticulating wildly and with such passion one could only be enthralled with the information she was conveying. And yet Dipper had never been more disinterested. He tried to pay attention, but he just couldn't. He had been numb ever since he left Gravity Falls with Mabel. Entering university; attending fascinating lectures tying into his mythical studies program should have been riveting, exciting and enthralling, but the truth was the complete opposite. Life had lost its spark. Everything seemed bleak, and focusing had become something akin to impossible. The voices of his teachers would become distant muffles as Dipper would quickly lose himself in his mind, replaying the events of his latest summer in Gravity Falls.

A little over a year ago, Tad Strange, a crazed Warlock, attempted to destroy the world. He only laid waste to a majority of Gravity Falls before he was stopped. Bill had been able to remedy the damage he made and bring back those he had killed. Little did they know, the demon's actions had attracted the attention of a Grim Reaper which quickly led to much chaos during the summer subsequent to those events. Hell bent on reversing Bill's mass resurrection, seen as a disturbance to the natural order, the creature took possession of Robbie Valentino and reaped the souls of those having been revived. Finding a way to stop the Grim Reaper had been rather difficult, and the task itself risky. Narrowly avoiding death once, not all of them had been able to do it a second time during their final confrontation. Ford had lost his life; his soul having been casted into the depths of the Void – a place from which not even the most powerful deity could be able to retrieve it.

Dipper often dreamt of the dreadful tragedy as well. The brunet had swapped nightmares of being chased by Tad Strange for watching his great uncle Ford, his idol, die over and over again. Sometimes, Ford would get the chance to speak his final words and more times than not he would blame Dipper for not having been able to save him. He felt guilty. The Grim Reaper had given him the opportunity to dissuade his family's endeavour, to convince them to let the creature do its job and spend a normal summer, but he had failed and Ford had paid the ultimate price. Bill was still nowhere to be found. Dipper's heart always gave a painful throb when he dared think about the demon. He could still hear his anguished screams in his mind.

"With that said, I'll end there for today." The teacher declared, snapping the teen out of his thoughts. Low chattering quickly filled the room as hundreds of students packed away their computers and papers into their bags, "Our midterm will take place in the second class coming back from your reading week. I would like to remind you that this isn't a vacation period, this is a _study_ period. Have a good week and study hard."

Dipper lowered his eyes, ready to reach for his binder when he noticed he hadn't pulled it out to take notes. Again. He must have zoned out as soon as he took a seat in the back row as he always did. He leaned back in his chair in disappointment and sighed. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about the midterm considering he hadn't paid attention to most of the classes. Perhaps he simply ought to drop out for the semester. He was still mourning and wasn't much in a state to focus on his lessons. Maybe it would do him some good to give himself a break and attend classes in the second semester. However, Dipper knew he wouldn't leave his room if he went through with it.

The brunet grabbed his bag and shrugged it on his shoulder. He followed the sea of students out of the class and through the halls. He had attended his last seminar of the week and was now officially beginning his reading week. Mabel had begun hers the day before – having no courses to attend on Fridays. She was likely waiting after him in their apartment with their bags ready. Despite it being a time to study and work on projects, Dipper and Mabel had decided to return to Gravity Falls and spend the week with Grunkle Stan. Though they spoke to the man on a near day to day basis, both twins were eager to return to that Oregon town lost in the forest if only to give him company for a short week. They had booked seats on the earliest bus they could take to Gravity Falls and Dipper had to hurry home.

He walked to the campus station and hopped on the first bus that brought him remotely close to the apartment he and Mabel had moved into. Their decision to move out had been made at the last second. Initially, the twins had planned to stay with their parents during their studies, but neither had foreseen Ford's death. Seeing as Stan's twin's existence as well as their crazy adventures were unknown to their parents, they wouldn't understand their children's grief. Thus, to avoid any form of confrontation, Dipper and Mabel moved away. Their new home was a little over thirty minutes away from their university and though it was located downtown, they had managed to score a flat for a rather cheap price. A third roommate was consequently unnecessary and the twins preferred it that way. They didn't have to worry about accidentally spilling their secrets and Mabel was free to use her magic as much as she pleased.

The bus pulled to a stop and Dipper hopped off. He was at a ten minute walking distance from his apartment which he could see peaking over the other tall buildings in the area. He made his way back fairly quickly and, as expected, Mabel had been waiting for him. He found their suitcases placed by the door and his sister lounging about in their sad excuse for a living room. The area was mostly empty with stained wall paper steadily peeling itself from the walls, rickety floor boards, and little to no furniture. They had no TV, instead they had a small coffee table next to a charger on which they placed a laptop. Their flat was conveniently close to a Starbucks and they were able to mooch off the Wi-Fi connection. Mabel was lying on her back on the sofa, carving drawings into the ceiling with her magic.

"Sup." She greeted evenly without sparing a look in his direction. She seemed very focused on her drawing.

"I'm probably going to flunk witchcraft but whatever." He shrugged his answer as he passed through the living room. Under different circumstances, Dipper might have been more panicked at the thought of potentially failing a class. At the moment, it was hard to care about something that was admittedly mundane. "I saw that you made my suitcase; thanks." He added, "I'll take a shower and then I'll be ready to go."

"Sounds good." Mabel said, "You've got twenty minutes."

Dipper nodded and marched into his room. He tossed his bag onto his messy bed and quickly began pulling off his clothes. "So how was your day?" he asked as he did so.

"Uneventful." Mabel replied, "I kind of just doodled all over the ceiling the whole day."

"Any projects you need to work on during reading week?" Dipper asked, stumbling out of his pants.

"Probably." Mabel shrugged, "I'm in the same boat as you, brobro. I can't pay attention. It doesn't matter that it's literally the most amazing and interesting thing to me; my mind just wanders off."

University had evidently not turned out to be the fantastic experience everyone had told them it would be. Then again, no one could have anticipated that the twins would have been mourning the all too recent death of their great uncle. Ford's absence was very noticeable – probably more so with Bill gone as well.

Dipper glanced at the ground with a frown. "It's not your fault, you know." He muttered and he knew his sister could hear him. The walls were very thin.

"It doesn't feel that way." Mabel smirked bitterly, "What's all this magic good for if I can't protect those I love, you know?"

Dipper bit his lower lip. He wished his sister didn't feel guilty like he did. He wished he could make that terrible feeling go away. She probably blamed herself given her unstable mood at the time. Unlocking her magical potential had rendered her rather irritable and rash. Maybe she thought, had she been more level headed and like her normal self, she could have found a way to prevent Ford's death. Of course, that likely wouldn't have changed anything. After all, it was _Dipper's_ fault. _Dipper_ was responsible. _Dipper_ had failed.

"Hey…" Mabel began quietly after a moment of nothing, "Do…do you think we'll see Bill when we go back?"

Bill hadn't given any of them even the most remote sign he was still around. Stan hadn't heard anything from him either. The demon had simply vanished. For all they knew, he could have returned to his dimension or fled to a different one. That being said, Dipper hoped they would see him again. Grieving alone, especially the loss of a lover, wasn't the best idea. Bill needed to be around people for support, whether he knew it or not.

Bill needed them

Bill needed his _family_.

"I don't know." Dipper answered frankly as he pulled on his bathrobe, "I hope we do."

"Me too…" Mabel mumbled as her brother walked to their shared bathroom.

He took a quick shower, forcing himself not to wander back to the tragedy of that terrible summer like he always did when he had a second to think. He cleaned himself thoroughly before leaving the warm water and drying himself. Then he pulled on some fresh clothes and he and Mabel left. Next stop: Gravity Falls.

* * *

 **Of Armageddons and Broken Hearts series:**

 **PART 1: _Two Minutes to Midnight_**

 **PART 2: _The Executioner's Song_**

 **PART 3 (final): _?_**

 **BONUS CONTENT:** ** _The Loveliest Lies_ (situated during the events of _Two Minutes to Midnight_ )**


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